Kolar (Karnataka), Aug 26 (IANS) Honey Baisoya set the mark at four-under 68 on the opening day of the INR 1 crore Kolar Open 2025 as the PGTI made its debut at a new venue, the ZION Hills Golf County located near here.

Baisoya, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, took a two-shot lead and established the course record at the new venue thanks to his first-round effort in gusty conditions.

The 29-year-old Baisoya, a seven-time winner on the PGTI in the past, was the clubhouse leader as the first round could not be completed on Tuesday due to the fading light. Eight players out of a total of 126 are yet to complete round one.

Four players were bunched in tied second in the clubhouse with scores of two-under 70. The quartet included Tapendra Ghai from Gurugram, Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya, Mumbai lad Aryaman Aditya Mohan, and Sri Lankan K Prabagaran.

Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema, a multiple-time winner this year, and last week’s runner-up Udayan Mane of Pune, struck scores of 73 to be placed tied 24th. Arjun Prasad of Delhi, currently second on the PGTI Order of Merit, returned a 76 to be tied 46th.

Baisoya, currently placed 16th in the PGTI’s merit list with four top-10s in the season, including a runner-up finish, scored a birdie and two bogeys over his first eight holes till the 17th.

Baisoya’s round then took flight with his 12-foot eagle conversion on the 18th. He followed that up with three more birdies till the fifth hole and a 35-foot eagle conversion on the sixth. He finally closed the day with three-putt bogeys on the eighth and ninth.

Baisoya said, “Playing at this course for the first time, I would say, since the fairways on the back-nine are narrower compared to the front-nine, the key here is to negotiate the fairways well on the back-nine, especially when the wind is up.

“I feel my day changed for the better after I made a great recovery from the hazard to make a bogey on the 17th. I had a good run thereafter, picking up seven shots on the next seven holes.

“I feel I’ve been playing well and have been very consistent since my runner-up finish in Delhi in April this year. After a good start in tough conditions, I’ll look to build on the foundation from here on,” he said.

–IANS

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