Sandhu emerges leader with sizzling 61 in round one of Mysuru Open

Mysuru, Aug 12 (PTI) Chandigarh golfer Yuvraj Sandhu shot a sizzling nine-under 61 to take lead on the opening day of the Mysuru Open, a PGTI event, here Tuesday.

The leader was closely followed by Bangladesh's Jamal Hossain who struck an outstanding eight-under 62 at the Par 70 course to be placed second. Both Yuvraj and Jamal had error-free outings.

Former PGTI Order of Merit champion Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow and Honey Baisoya of the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, signed for scores of seven-under 63 to occupy tied third place at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club (JWGC).

Mysuru's Dhruv Bopanna, playing at his home course, carded a six-under 64 to be tied fifth along with Bengaluru’s Chikkarangappa S.

Chandigarh's Angad Cheema, the winner of the last two PGTI events and currently ranked second in the Order of Merit, began his week with a 69 to be tied 60th.

Sandhu, one of only two multiple winners on the PGTI this year along with Cheema, picked up two birdies on the front-nine before racing to the top with an eagle and five birdies on the back-nine.

Sandhu's back-nine featured some exceptional iron and wedge shots including his hole out from 18 yards for eagle on the 14th. "It was an ideal start for me as this is the first time I’m playing an event at the JWGC. The playing conditions and the weather is also quite different from our last venue in Ahmedabad. I’m just loving the weather here, it’s perfect for golf. I adapted to the conditions well today, especially the greens and the way the course is set up," said Sandhu.

"My consistency this season has been the result of the combined efforts of my whole team including my coach, mental coach, physical trainer, physio and nutritionist." Jamal Hossain's eight birdies included six from a range within five feet and two long conversions as he drove the ball well and landed his wedge shots close to the pin on most occasions. PTI AT AT AH AH