Coimbatore Open: Three share lead on day one

Seasoned campaigner N. Thangaraja (Sri Lanka) shot a six-under 66 but Delhi-based Saptak Talwar and Aryan Roopa Anand (Bengaluru) came up with a similar effort to share the lead after the first round in the inaugural Coimbatore Open, presented by KGiSL, at the par-72 CGC course here on Tuesday.

The golfers were a bit sceptical about the wind behaviour but it was relatively calm. Talwar and Thangaraja made the best use of the morning condition to finish on top at the start. The former drove well on the front nine. He set up a birdie on the fifth and an eagle on the ninth. He dropped a shot on the 10th but quickly gained control with four more birdies on the back-nine.

“I expected it to be a bit rough and was mentally prepared for it. But the winds were down and I was happy to take advantage of it,” said Talwar.

Thangaraja, on the other hand, fired seven birdies in exchange for a lone bogey. The three-time PGTI winner was pleased with the way things panned out for him. But for Anand, who teed off in the afternoon, it wasn’t to his liking. However, the young man treated the course like any other and played to his potential. He started with two birdies and a bogey on the first eight holes but took off with a chip-in for a eagle on the ninth. The 21-year-old added three more on the back nine to finish the day on a merry note.

Leaderboard: Round 1: N. Thangaraja; Saptak Talwar & Aryan Roopa Anand 66; Om Prakash Chouhan 67; Manish Thakran; Anura Rohana & Karan Pratap Singh 68.