Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 09-02-2017
Bhullar off to explosive start, lies tied third at Maybank Championship
Shubhankar in tied 11th
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar fired a sizzling six-under-66 in the opening round of the Maybank Championship to be placed tied third, three shots behind first round leader Marc Warren of Scotland.
Gaganjeet, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour last year, nailed seven birdies against a lone bogey at the Saujana Golf and Country Club’s Palm course which is playing host to the US$3 million event co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian Tour.
Bhullar said, “I hit the ball really well and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities. I think I hit 15 greens in regulation today and had some really close birdies. I drove it really well. I missed some shots in the middle of the round but after that the game was coming back on track. Just the first day and I’m feeling positive for the week.
“I’ve been driving it good lately, hitting a lot of fairways. I’ve been giving myself a lot of birdie opportunities which is the key factor this week. Greens here are small and if you’re on the green, you have good chance of scoring.”
India’s Shubhankar Sharma was amongst a group of eight golfers bunched together in tied 11th at 68. Shubhankar made an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
Anirban Lahiri was the third Indian in the top-20 as he posted a 69 to be tied 19th.
Arjun Atwal, Chiragh Kumar and Shiv Kapur were all in tied 31st at two-under-70 while Jeev Milkha Singh was a further shot back in tied 53rd.
SSP Chawrasia and Rashid Khan returned scores of 72 to be placed tied 68th.
Jyoti Randhawa (73) was tied 89th, Chikkarangappa (74) was tied 109th, Rahil Gangjee (75) was tied 123rd and Mukesh Kumar (77) was tied 139th.
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