Coimbatore, Sep 30 (IANS) Noida’s Gaurav Pratap Singh and Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain, last week’s winner on the PGTI, posted scores of three-under 69 in extremely windy conditions to share the joint lead after round one of the INR 1 crore Tamil Nadu Open 2025 being played at the Coimbatore Golf Club.

Delhi-based Arjun Prasad, currently second on the 2025 PGTI Order of Merit, returned a two-under 70 to be placed third. Manu Gandas of Gurugram, rookie Joysurjo Dey of Kolkata, and Ahmedabad’s Anshul Patel were in tied fourth position with scores of 71.

Gaurav Pratap Singh, currently 31st in the PGTI Order of Merit, began the week with a bogey on the first hole but then rallied with five birdies over the next 14 holes thanks to some outstanding chip-putts. Gaurav dropped another bogey on the 17th but still ended the day with the joint best score.

“Besides some quality chip-putts, I also made some good par-saves today. Importantly, I stuck to my game plan and things fell in place thereafter. I’ve been quite consistent so far in the second half of the season. I had top-20s in the last two events, so I feel my game is on the right track and now it’s about putting four good rounds together,” Gaurav, a multiple-time winner on the PGTI, said at the end of the day’s play.

Jamal Hossain, like Gaurav, also began his round with a bogey on the 10th. However, it was an upward graph for Jamal from there on as he collected birdies on the 15th and second courtesy a couple of top-class chip shots before finally chipping in for an eagle-two on the Par-4 sixth hole.

“I’m feeling the momentum from last week and hoping to repeat what I did in Hyderabad. However, I missed far too many putts for my liking today. I just need to sharpen that aspect to be in the mix here too,” Jamal said.

S. Prasanth of Chennai was the highest-placed among the Tamil Nadu-based professionals as he struck a 77 to be tied 52nd.

–IANS

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