Akshay Sharma took the early lead as he equaled the lowest score ever achieved in a single round at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Naya Raipur.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Akshay, who had a near-perfect round and narrowly missed a hole-in-one on two occasions, matched the record for the lowest score at the venue set by Khalin Joshi last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Two-time PGTI winner Akshay of Chandigarh had a bogey-free effort on day one that saw him make five birdies on the front-nine and four on the back-nine. He sank two 15-footers for birdies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Akshay said, \u201cIt was a dream round being one of those days when every aspect of my game was top-notch \u2013 driving, iron-play and putting. I missed only three greens in regulation today and missed out on holes-in-one by one foot on two occasions \u2013 second and 17th. I enjoyed some good form towards the end of last year with a couple of top-10 finishes. I feel I\u2019m now building further on that form. I also had a good outing in Naya Raipur last year with a top-10 finish. So, I\u2019m quite familiar with this course.\u201d <\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sixteen-year-old Kartik Singh, fresh from his tied seventh place finish at the PGTI Qualifying School last week and making his DP World PGTI debut, made an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey on day one to be placed tied second.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kartik, former India No. 1 Junior and Amateur, said, \u201cI\u2019m feeling great about starting so well in my very first event on the PGTI. I came back well after a bogey on the first hole. My mindset every day is to shoot a good round and play as well as I can. I made a lot of long putts today and chipped-in once. It is definitely very competitive here on the DP World PGTI and I feel I need to raise my game further to contend here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier in the day, the Honourable Finance Minister of Chhattisgarh Shri O P Choudhary, performed the ceremonial tee-off at 8:30 am.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the ceremonial tee-off, O P Choudhary met with some top professional golfers participating and also interacted with media persons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier in the day, the Honourable Finance Minister of Chhattisgarh Shri O P Choudhary, performed the ceremonial tee-off at 8:30 am.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe look forward to welcoming our national sporting icon Shri Kapil Dev, President, PGTI, on the final day of the tournament. We thank him for being one of the driving forces behind this event. His support and encouragement will be key to making this tournament bigger and better and promoting sports in Chhattisgarh.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n