Mohammad Siddikur, Rahil Gangjee finish among leaders on Day 1 of Indian Open golf
Mohammad Siddikur shared the lead on the first day while Rahil Gangjee was the highest among the Indians. Shankar Das came in seventh.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: November 07, 2013 06:36 PM IST
Mohammad Siddikur of Bangladesh shared the opening round lead at the Indian Open on Thursday after firing a six-under-par 66, disoplaying a more aggressive style of the game.
According to an official media release, India's Rahil Gangjee was among the leaders, which included the winner of the 2004 Indian Open, Singapore's Mardan Mamat.
Shankar Das of India finished seventh on 67 and Jay Bayron of the Philippines, Shamim Khan and Unho Park of Australia were tied eighth at the US$1.25 million Asian Tour event staged at the Delhi Golf Club.
Siddikur traded his made use of learning from the likes of Bubba Watson as he shed his conservative way of play to be more attacking.
"They played very aggressively. Most players can hit the ball but not all of them can play like them. Since then, I've been trying to play more aggressively and the results seem to be showing," said Siddikur.
A victory for Siddikur will improve his record at the Delhi Golf Club where he has six top-10 results including two runner-up finishes since 2011.
"I have good memories on this golf course. This is one of my favourite golf courses and I always love playing here. I like golf courses where you need to place your ball and I always do well here. I hope to keep it up," he added.
The Indian Open celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, and it brought out the best from Mamat Mardan, who won his first ever Asian Tour title at the 2004 edition.
"During my pro-am on Wednesday, I saw my 2004 photo plastered on the wall at the hospitality tent. It was nice to see the photo among all the other winners of the Indian Open. That certainly gave me some motivation," smiled the 46-year-old from Singapore.
Asian Tour winner Rahil Gangjee, who started from the 10th tee, had to recover after a poor start to finish the best among the Indians after the first day.
"I kept it going, I didn't stop making birdies. I lost track of my score which is a good thing! Sometimes when you go low then it happens. I was aware of what I was doing but I just lost track of my score," said Gangjee.