Bengaluru-based Rahil Gangjee, who bagged two international titles earlier this year, continued his sizzling form with a superb nine-under 63 to take the first-round lead at the ₹1 crore Haryana Open 2024 being played at the Panchkula Golf Club (PGC).
Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh came up with a personal best score of eight-under 64 to be placed second.
Defending champion Jairaj Singh Sandhu of Chandigarh was tied for third at seven-under 65 along with teenage rookie Anshul Kabthiyal, N Thangaraja, Dhruv Sheoran and Kshitij Naveed Kaul.
Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta was the other tricity golfer in the top 10 as he carded a 67 to be tied for ninth.
The seasoned Rahil Gangjee, currently fourth on the PGTI ranking with five top-10s on the PGTI this season, stamped his authority on day one with an eagle and eight birdies at the expense of a lone bogey.
Forty-six-year-old Rahil, a winner of five international titles including two on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year, began his day from the 10th hole and scored five birdies on the back-nine that featured three conversions from a range of 12 to 30 feet.
Gangjee then carried forward the momentum with some excellent wedge-play on the front-nine leaving himself two birdie tap-ins. After a bogey on the eighth, Rahil bounced back by holing out his approach shot from 140 yards for an eagle-two on the par-4 ninth.
{{/usCountry}}Gangjee then carried forward the momentum with some excellent wedge-play on the front-nine leaving himself two birdie tap-ins. After a bogey on the eighth, Rahil bounced back by holing out his approach shot from 140 yards for an eagle-two on the par-4 ninth.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, Varun Parikh sank three 25-footers and produced some excellent chip-putts in his round of 64 that marked his lowest score in a tournament.
Reigning champion Jairaj Singh Sandhu drove and putted well to shoot an error-free 65 on day one that kept him in the mix.