Shubhankar Sharma was the best of the three Indians in the first round as he carded a two-under 70 that included a hat-trick of birdies at the KLM Open in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, at White Sulphur Springs, Anirban Lahiri and Arjun Atwal had a modest start in the first round as ‘A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier’ event kicked off the PGA Tour’s 2019-20 season.
Sharma, playing in Europe for the first time since the 148th Open in July, had six birdies against four bogeys and he was Tied-26th on Thursday, while Gaganjeet Bhullar scored even par 72 and was Tied-65th and SSP Chawrasia had a disappointing 74 to be Tied-100th.
Callum Shinkwin carded a superb six under par 66 to take a one stroke lead after the opening round. The Englishman, 126th in the Race to Dubai Rankings and 446th in the Official World Golf Rankings, found his form to lead a large chasing pack.
The 26-year-old reached the turn in 32 courtesy an eagle, three birdies and one dropped shot before a blemish free back nine - which included two more birdies to help him to the top of the leaderboard.
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Malaysian Gavin Green made a trademark fast start to finish on five under, with Shinkwin’s playing partner Swede Per Langfors carding 67 to sit alongside Scot Marc Warren, Dane Nicolai Hojgaard, and Englishmen Chris Paisley, Sam Horsfield and Matthew Southgate at five under.
The 2017 Masters Tournament champion Sergio Garcia led a group of eight players one shot further adrift at four under after signing for a bogey-free 68 on a low scoring morning.
Defending champion Wu Ashun was one of ten players at three under par, including two time KLM Open winner and playing partner Joost Luiten, who came home in a remarkable 30 after carding his opening front nine in three over.
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On the other hand at the PGA Tour opener, Lahiri, who was bogey free for 17 holes dropped a shot on the last to finish at three-under 67 and Tied-32nd on the par-70 course Old White TPC, while Atwal with four birdies against two bogeys was two-under 68 and Tied-53rd.
Robby Shelton took the opening-round lead with a 62 to become only the second player to record rounds of 62 or better on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada.
Lahiri holed his third shot form almost 95 yards for an eagle on Par-5 12th as he started from the tenth. He also birdied 16th and first but dropped his only shot on ninth as he failed to get an up-and-down from just under 30 feet after not getting his chip right.
Atwal birdied first from just under 17 feet and added a second on fourth. He dropped shots on sixth and eighth to turn in even par. On the back nine he birdied 10th and 12th but did not drop any bogeys.
Defending champion Kevin Na sits T2 as he seeks to become the first multiple winner of the event. Na was joined by Lanto Griffin, Mark Hubbard and Zack Sucher matched Harrington at 64.
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All the 21 tour rookies and other Korn Ferry Tour graduates are in the field. Making the best start was the 38-year-old Scott Harrington, who becomes a PGA Tour member after 17 years as a pro, got off to a great start as he shot 6-under 64 putting him two strokes behind first-round leader Shelton.
Shelton made eight starts on tour as a non-member in 2016-17 and he now has his Tour card for the first time after winning two Korn Ferry events in May.
Starting on the back nine Shelton, 24, made the turn at three-under and birdied Nos. 1-3. The 8-under 62 is his lowest score on Tour.
A day after winning the Arnold Palmer Award as Rookie of the Year, Sungjae Im recorded his second ace on Tour as he shot four-under 66.
Brian Harman, Sung Kang, Harold Varner III and Jimmy Walker shot 65 each and the group at Tied-seventh included 10 players. Bryson DeChambeau had a 68.
(With inputs from PTI)
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