Ahlawat has a two-shot lead on the first day of the first Cidco Open

In-form Gurgaon golfer Veer Ahlawat heading into the first day of the inaugural Cidco Open at Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar Valley course on Tuesday. Image courtesy of PGTI.

By Rahul Banerji

Jaipur Open winner Veer Ahlawat shot a 6-under par 65 on Tuesday for a two-shot lead on the opening day of the inaugural Cidco Open at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course in Navi Mumbai.

Since this is the first-ever professional event at the Navi Mumbai course, the Gurgaon golfer’s score will stand as the course record, the PGTI said.

Ahlawat, who registered a dramatic win at Rambagh a fortnight ago, continued his good form at the Rs 1 crore event presented by Larsen & Toubro.

Italian Michele Ortolani and Koichiro Sato of the US shot 4-under 67s on the par-71 course to share second place.

There were two more foreign players in the top eight as Uganda’s Joshua Seale and Sri Lanka’s N. Thangaraja were in fourth place on 68, along with Manoj S., Dhruv Sheoran and Manu Gandas.

Dipankar Kaushal (69) and Mani Ram (75) shot holes-in-one to level the score at ten^e and tied 69^e on the day respectively.

Mani Ram, who scored the first hole-in-one at the new venue, had his moment of glory on the 17th.^e hole while Dipankar achieved the feat on the third hole.

Early break

Ahlawat, 10^e tee starter on Tuesday, gained early momentum with a three-foot birdie conversion on the 12th hole and a 20-foot eagle conversion on the 14th hole.

The 29-year-old put his long hitting skills to good use on a course that suited his playing style with birdie tap-ins on holes one and twp.

Ahlawat then threw 15 feet for his final birdie of the day on four.

“I have a good feeling about my game since I played at the PGTI again in October, including a win,” Ahlawat said later.

“This course suits my game because I feel like three of the four par-5s are reachable in two shots, while a few par-4s are driveable for me.

“However, the colder weather at last week’s event in Delhi means you have to adapt quickly to the warmer conditions here. I enjoyed my first round of competition here at KVGC and think it’s a great format.”

Also read: Cidco Open takes PGTI into new territory with Navi Mumbai event

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