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2 hours ago
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Gaganjeet Bhullar during IGPL in Chandigarh on Wednesday. (Jasbir Malhi)
Staging a comeback after being two-over after the first six holes, 24-year-old Shaurya Binu grabbed the lead with a first round score of three-under-69 on the opening day of the Rs 1.5 crore Chandigarh leg of the Indian Golf Premier League, which started at Chandigarh Golf Course on Wednesday. The Bengaluru golfer sank a total of five bridges during his round with three consecutive birdies on the last three holes.
“I really loved the first day – the set-up was engaging and the tournament has been conducted so well. It had an international feel and frankly the way things have been the last couple of days, I have to say they have exceeded my expectations. As for the players, the pressure of a ‘cut’ is also not there in the three-round event,” said Shaurya Binu, who turned professional in 2023 and had won his first professional title on the PGTI Tour last year.
Arjuna awardee Gaganjeet Bhullar, who is a 11-time winner of Asian Tour, carded an opening round score of 2-under-70 to be placed tied-second along with Chandigarh youngster Krish Chawla (Amateur) and M Dharma. Dharma sank four birdies and two bogeys during the opening round while Chawla sank four birdies and two bogeys during his opening round.
Chandigarh golfer Harendra Gupta was placed fifth with an opening day score of one-under-71. The Rs 1.5 crore prize purse tournament is seeing the presence of 54 players — 38 men, 10 women and six amateur golfers. The mixed format league is being held under the aegis of WGAI, Indian Golf Union and Professional Golfers Association of India and will be played in 10 venues, including the last two legs in Dubai and Colombo. “It was a red-letter day for Indian golf, and nature was kind to us as the sun shone brightly. A bunch of teen amateurs turned pro and showed great promise and the women were playing alongside men for a purse of Rs 1.5 crore, probably the biggest purse many of them had ever played for and the officials at the Chandigarh were amazing and had the club at its best,” said Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of the IGPL.
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