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  Aman Raj’s sizzling 65 hands him Day 1 lead

Aman Raj’s sizzling 65 hands him Day 1 lead

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Aug 9, 2016, 11:08 pm IST
Updated : Aug 9, 2016, 11:08 pm IST

Rookie Aman Raj made a statement on the opening day of the PGTI Players Championship with a sparkling seven-under 65 that gave him the lead at the Classic course in Mewat, Haryana, on Tuesday.

Aman Raj
 Aman Raj

Rookie Aman Raj made a statement on the opening day of the PGTI Players Championship with a sparkling seven-under 65 that gave him the lead at the Classic course in Mewat, Haryana, on Tuesday.

Chandigarh’s Abhijit Singh Chadha, a two-time winner on the PGTI, was one off the lead, thanks to an equally impressive 66 at the Classic Golf & Country Club.

Aman, India’s top amateur till last year, had made an exciting start to his professional career with two top-25 finishes in his first two events on the PGTI earlier this season.

The 21-year-old from Patna continued to live up to his promise yet again as he fired an error-free opening round 65 in only his third professional event.

Aman was off to a brisk start from the 10th collecting birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th, two of them from a range of 10 to 15 feet. The highlight of his round was a chip-in for eagle from 25 yards on the 18th.

Two more 10-foot birdie conversions on the second and ninth along with some brilliant par saves on the front nine meant Aman Raj closed the day one ahead of the rest.

Said Aman after his round: “The decent finishes in my first two events on the PGTI really helped my confidence as it gave me a good start to my pro career. I feel I’m getting better with each event. It’ll be about keeping it in play this week and continuing with my good putting form. I missed just one short putt today.”