Ahmedabad\u2019s Varun Parikh came up with a personal best score of eight-under 64 to be placed second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Chandigarh\u2019s Harendra Gupta was the other Tricity golfer in the top-10 as he carded a 67 to be tied ninth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I\u2019m really happy with the year so far. I worked a lot on the mental aspect of my game. I\u2019m also feeling good physically at the moment after having recovered from a couple of injuries that hampered my game for some time. I\u2019m now looking forward to winning on the PGTI as it\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve done that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"Two back-to-back long birdie conversions on the 18th and first holes gave me a huge boost today. I also came back really well with an eagle on the last hole after the bogey on the eighth.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"My wife Ruhi, also caddying for me this week, told me not to worry after my bogey on the eighth as she predicted I would make an eagle on the ninth. That\u2019s exactly what I did. So I\u2019m grateful to her for all the good thoughts that she gives me on the golf course,\" Gangjee said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"My wife Ruhi, also caddying for me this week, told me not to worry after my bogey on the eighth as she predicted I would make an eagle on the ninth. That\u2019s exactly what I did. So I\u2019m grateful to her for all the good thoughts that she gives me on the golf course,\" Gangjee said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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