Greater Noida, Oct 7 (IANS) Shaurya Bhattacharya opened with a six-under-66 to establish a two-shot lead after the first round of the Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort in Greater Noida on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Bhattacharya, a three-time winner on the DP World PGTI, made seven birdies and dropped his only shot of the day on the par-four eighth.
Bhattacharya began the week ranked 14th in the Race to DP World India Championship. He has come close to adding another title this season, recording joint runner-up finishes at the Players Championship 2026 in February and the Kolar Open 2026 in August.
Chandigarh’s Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time PGTI Tour winner, occupied second place at four-under 68. His round featured an eagle on the par-five 12th, three birdies and one bogey.
Shubhankar won the Boulders Classic on the PGTI in April, ending an eight-year wait for a professional title.
Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain, Gurugram’s Dhruv Sheoran and Bengaluru’s Manoj S returned matching two-under 70s to share third place. Jamal made three birdies against a solitary bogey, while Sheoran mixed six birdies with four bogeys. Manoj registered five birdies and three bogeys.
Shaurya settled quickly with birdies on his opening two holes before relying on accurate approach play and patient course management to maintain his momentum. “I got off to a strong start with birdies on the first two holes, which helped me settle into the round,” Shaurya said. “From there, I continued finding greens and stayed patient. The lone bogey was disappointing, but I holed some important putts.”
A long birdie putt on the final hole provided the finishing touch to his 66 and extended his advantage to two strokes. “The putt on the last felt like a bonus,” he said. “I knew it would be a long day, so the key was to remain calm, keep my thoughts together and focus on one shot at a time.”
The tournament features a distinctive Pro-Am format, with amateurs competing alongside professionals in all four rounds. The extended playing schedule also took part of the field into floodlit conditions.
“The format is quite interesting because we are playing alongside amateurs, and the number of groups makes it a long day,” Shaurya said. “Playing under floodlights also requires some adjustment, but I competed in an event here in similar conditions a few weeks ago, so that experience helped me adapt quickly.
“The conditions were the same for everyone. I concentrated on hitting greens, creating opportunities and maintaining a steady rhythm throughout the round.”
Current Race to India Championship leader Saptak Talwar opened with a three-over 75 to share 36th place.
The Pro-Am on Wednesday was won by the team consisting of professional Shaurya Bhattacharya and amateur Dr. Hamidi. Their score was 44 stableford points, and they won on a countback.
–IANS
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