Noida, 04-04-2023

Sudhir Sharma makes a dream start with an eight-under over nine holes for clubhouse lead on day one of Delhi-NCR Open 2023

Sudhir Sharma of Greater Noida made a dream start to the Delhi-NCR Open 2023 with a sensational eight-under 28 over nine holes to grab the clubhouse lead on day one at the Noida Golf Course.

Gurugram’s Manu Gandas, Delhi’s Honey Baisoya and Bangladesh’s Badal Hossain were tied second in the clubhouse with scores of four-under 32.

The start of round one was delayed by three hours on Tuesday due to the heavy overnight rain. As play began at 10 am, round one could not be completed on Tuesday. Twelve players out of 126 are yet to finish their first round.

The rain resulted in waterlogging on the back-nine. Therefore, play was only possible on the front-nine on Tuesday. As a result, the first round was played over nine holes with the par for the round being 36.

Depending on the weather conditions, round two may be played over 18 holes or nine holes. Therefore, the cut will be applied over either 27 or 18 holes.

Sudhir Sharma, a two-time winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour, couldn’t have asked for a better start to the week as he drained a 20-feet eagle putt on the first hole. Sudhir carried on the good work sinking a couple of more long birdies including a mammoth 45-footer on the fifth. The 35-year-old finally wrapped up his round in style with three accurate approach shots that set up an eagle and two birdies on the last three holes.

Sudhir said, “It was a perfect round, hitting was solid and putting was consistent as I holed a few long putts. It was about trying to keep it more in play and avoiding mistakes since it was a nine-hole round. Adjusting to the course conditions after the overnight rain was also key. I used to play a lot over here so I’m quite familiar with this course and enjoy playing here.

“I’m feeling very confident now because earlier I was struggling with my swing after having made a couple of changes in it. I felt good about my swing today.”