The duo ended the first day tied for 32nd place, three shots behind a six-way lead in a tightly-packed leaderboard. Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju, meanwhile, endured a difficult day and was tied 103rd after a 1-over 71.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sharing the lead at 6-under 64 were Ryan Gerard, Andrew Putnam, Tom Kim, J.J. Spaun, Matt McCarty, and Lee Hodges after the opening round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Spaun, ranked ninth in the world and the highest-ranked player in the field, continued his consistent form with a flawless 64. Russell Henley and Sweden\u2019s Ludvig \u00c5berg, ranked 12th and 13th respectively, were tied 19th after rounds of 4-under 66.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Theegala, who has been working his way back after injury setbacks earlier in the season, showed encouraging signs with a composed and controlled display. Starting from the front nine, he stayed bogey-free through his first 14 holes while collecting birdies on the first, sixth, and 11th.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A bogey on the 15th briefly halted his momentum, but he responded with a birdie on the closing 18th hole to finish with a 67. The round reflected the steady progress being made by the former PGA Tour winner, whose career-best world ranking reached No. 11.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bhatia\u2019s round followed a contrasting path. The left-hander struggled early and slipped over par after back-to-back bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes. He recovered one shot with a birdie on the ninth before finding his rhythm on the inward stretch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Birdies on the 11th and 15th brought him back into red figures, and he finished strongly with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to join Theegala at 3-under.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Yellamaraju also started on the front side but found himself under pressure early. He dropped a shot on the fourth and then suffered a double bogey on the fifth. The young Indo-Canadian fought back with birdies on the ninth and 12th holes, though another bogey on the 14th pushed him back over par.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Birdies on the 11th and 15th brought him back into red figures, and he finished strongly with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to join Theegala at 3-under.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Among other notable names in the field, Japan\u2019s Keita Nakajima \u2014 a former Hero Indian Open champion \u2014 and Justin Thomas both carded 1-under 69 to sit tied 57th. \u00c5berg remained the best-placed among the marquee contenders at 4-under, two shots off the lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n