Ahmedabad, Jan 23 (IANS) Malaysia’s Muhammad Nafis Najmie Bin Darnalis carded a four-under 68 to take the first-round lead at Pre-Qualifying III of the PGTI Qualifying School 2026, being played at the Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad.

Nafis, who plays on the Malaysian tour, began on a solid note with a birdie on the 11th followed by an eagle on the 14th. He then went on to add two more birdies on the fourth and sixth before dropping his only bogey of the day on the eighth.

The 25-year-old Nafis, making his first trip to India, said, “I’m really excited to be here in India. I recently turned professional and found out about the PGTI from the internet. I felt that the PGTI was a great platform for me to begin my professional journey. I putted really well today, having made a lot of conversions from a range of four to 10 feet. I look forward to carrying forward this momentum to the second round and later to the Final Qualifying Stage.”

India’s Anirudh Kamireddypalli was placed second at 69. American Jhared Hack and India’s Pranav Kaul were tied for third place at 70.

The Qualifying School, which marks the beginning of each PGTI season, is one of the most important events on the PGTI calendar as it is the only route for players to qualify to play on the PGTI in a particular season. The tournament determines the criteria for players for the whole season.

This year’s Qualifying School event started with over 450 golfers, and besides Indian participants, this year’s Qualifying School also features as many as 39 golfers from foreign countries.

The First Stage of the Qualifying School comprises three 36-hole events – Pre-Qualifying I, Pre-Qualifying II, and Pre-Qualifying III. While Pre-Qualifying I started on January 17 – 18, Pre-Qualifying II will be held on January 20 and 21, and Pre-Qualifying III takes place on January 23 and 24.

A total of 77 players from the First Stage (Pre-Qualifying) qualified through to the Final Stage. The qualifiers from the First Stage will join the exempted players in the Final Stage, which is scheduled to be held from January 27 to 30.

At the end of the Final Stage, the top qualifiers with a specific cut-off will earn their full cards for the 2026 PGTI season. The Final Stage offers a total prize purse of INR 10 lakh.

–IANS

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