Akshay Sharma of Chandigarh shot a six-under-64 to take the first round lead in the fifth and final PGTI Feeder Tour event of the 2012 season at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur. Vipul Darediya of Vadodara is in second place with a score of four-under-66.
Sharma’s round of 64 included seven birdies and a bogey. He had a terrific start as he birdied the first three holes and then followed that up with another on the eighth to make the turn at four-under.
The 22-year-old’s lone bogey came on the 12th against the run of play. Sharma continued the good work thereafter as he collected birdies on the 14th, 17th and 18th.
Sharma said later, “The magnificent start set up the round for me. I began with a 15-foot conversion on the first and then missed a hole-in-one by a whisker on the second. I hit it extremely close through the day.
“One of my best birdies came on the 17th where I landed my chip within a few inches of the pin. I had a good finish at the last PGTI event in Delhi in a very tough field. I have drawn a lot of confidence from that performance.”
Darediya with an eagle on the par-4 15th hole, six birdies and four bogeys was placed second at four-under-66.
Sanjeev Kumar of Lucknow and Wilson Raj D’Mello of Mumbai are in tied third place at three-under-67.