Fort Worth (USA), May 29 (IANS) Indian-American golfers Sahith Theegala and Akshay Bhatia made solid starts at the Charles Schwab Challenge with matching opening rounds of 3-under 67 in the PGA Tour event being played at Colonial Country Club in Texas.

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.

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.

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’s Ludvig Åberg, ranked 12th and 13th respectively, were tied 19th after rounds of 4-under 66.

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.

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.

Bhatia’s 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.

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.

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.

A birdie on the 17th helped limit the damage as he signed for a 71.

Among other notable names in the field, Japan’s Keita Nakajima — a former Hero Indian Open champion — and Justin Thomas both carded 1-under 69 to sit tied 57th. Åberg remained the best-placed among the marquee contenders at 4-under, two shots off the lead.

–IANS

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