Mukeem ali

DP World PGTI NexGen Order: The 31-year-old Sunit Chowrasia of Kolkata, 27-year-old Mukeem Ali of Mathura, and 39-year-old Dipankar Kaushal of Noida carded matching rounds of three-under 67 to share the first-round lead at the inaugural INR 25 lakh DP World PGTI NexGen – Varanasi being played at the BLW Greens Golf Course.

Chowrasia, the current DP World PGTI NexGen Order of Merit leader, arrived in Varanasi on the back of consecutive victories at the Alpha Sports Academy Golf Championship hosted by Patna Golf Club in March and the Vijay Kumar Memorial in Lucknow last week. The Kolkata golfer mixed seven birdies with two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 10th to join the lead at three-under 67.

Reflecting on his round, Chowrasia said, “It feels good to be in a share of the lead. I started well, but the double bogey on the 10th checked my momentum a little. After that, I stayed patient, focused on my game plan, and managed to recover well.”