Louis Philippe Cup: Himmat Rai shines in Round 1

Himmat shot eight birdies and a bogey, while his teammate Sujjan Singh carded a one-under 71. Defending champion, Navratna Ahmedabad, lies three strokes behind with a total score of 139.

Himmat Rai in action during the Louis Philippe Cup.

A stellar seven-under 65 by Himmat Rai propelled Dev Chandigarh to the lead after the first round of the Louis Philippe Cup, held at the KGA course here on Wednesday.

Himmat shot eight birdies and a bogey, while his teammate Sujjan Singh carded a one-under 71. Defending champion, Navratna Ahmedabad, lies three strokes behind with a total score of 139.

Himmat was at his best in the 12th hole, when he sunk a 20-foot putt to make birdie. The only blip in his day came in the 14th, when a short approach left him with too much to do. He could only manage a bogey.

In the inter-city event, where professionals team up with amateurs, Navratna Ahmedabad emerged the winner. Film personality Mani Ratnam (12 handicap), representing Take Chennai, finished with a gross score of 20-over 92.

The scores (after 18 holes): Team (only two best scores): 136: Dev Chandigarh (Himmat Rai 65, Sujjan Singh 71); 139: Navratna Ahmedabad (Mithun Perera 69, Shankar Das 70); 141: Take Chennai (S.S.P. Chawrasia 70, S Chikkarangappa 71), Laqshya Mumbai (Mukesh Kumar 70, Chiragh Kumar 71); 142: Zion Hills Bengaluru (M. Dharma 71, Abhijit Chadha 71), Jaypee Greens Greater Noida (Shamim Khan 70, Udayan Mane 72); 145: DLF-The Crest Gurgaon (Ashok Kumar 72, Shubhankar Sharma 73); 147: NSports Hyderabad (Ajeetesh Sandhu 73, Gaganjeet Bhullar 74).

Individual (leading scores): Himmat Rai 65; Mithun Perera 69; S.S.P. Chawrasia, Shamim Khan, Shankar Das, Mukesh Kumar 70.