Jaipur, Dec 2 (IANS) The 17-year-old rookie Manoj S. shot a seven-under 63 to take the first-round lead at the Jaipur Open 2025, an INR 1 crore event organised by the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and being played at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur on Tuesday.

Bengaluru-based Manoj S, fresh from six top-10 finishes in his last eight starts on the PGTI, continued his fine form as he sank eight birdies against a lone bogey on Tuesday.

Shaurya Bhattacharya, Divyanshu Bajaj, Kushal Singh, and Arjun Prasad struck scores of six-under 64 to be close on the heels of the leader in tied second place.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu opened his week with a 65, which included a golden run of five successive birdies. Yuvraj was placed tied sixth along with Harsh Gangwar and Badal Hossain.

Manoj S was two-under through the front-nine before he turned on the heat with five birdies on the back-nine. Never in a spot of trouble, the teenager’s hot putter saw him drain three 20-footers and a 15-footer for birdie.

Manoj said, “I played a junior event here about three years back and performed well on that occasion. So, I’m familiar with this course. It’s important to place your tee shots well here, as a number of fairways have trees in the middle. I was accurate with my tee shots today, found 15 greens in regulation, and also scored birdies on all four Par-5 holes.

“The key to my good form over the past few weeks has been my excellent ball-striking, which has created numerous scoring opportunities for me. My ball-striking once again provided me with the perfect start to the week.”

Veer Ahlawat, last year’s PGTI Order of Merit champion, carded a 67 to be tied 12th. Jaipur’s Prakhar Asawa had the best day among the local professionals as he fired a 68 to be tied 19th.

–IANS

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