Chang is the early leader in Kensville, Gill fires a spirited 66 for a tie for second place

Ludhiana’s Pukhraj Singh Gill stood second as the top-seeded Indian after day one of the Bharath Classic 2025 Gujarat at Kensville Golf Resort near Ahmedabad on Thursday. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Ahmedabad: Heemin Chang led after day one of the Bharath Classic 2025 Gujarat at Kensville Golf Resort near Ahmedabad on Thursday.

The Korean, who shot an 8-under-par 64, was two shots clear of a tie for second place after playing the course for the first time.

Ludhiana’s Pukhraj Singh Gill was the fastest Indian on the day at 6-under 66, alongside Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Poosit Supupramai, and Korea’s Wooyoung Cho, who shot 66s.

The first $500,000 event coincides with the Indian Golf Premier League Tour and is the penultimate tournament of the season on the Asian Tour.

Quite a few players in the field are looking to make up ground on the Tour’s Order of Merit to secure playing privileges for next year.

Gill’s 66 was his best on the Asian Tour and came after an aggressive performance on the challenging 7,210m circuit.

Aggressive approach

“I played aggressively and used the driver well. Even towards the end, I remained aggressive as that mentality helped me get my first win at the IGPL Tour in Jamshedpur recently.

“I know this course quite well. We have quite a few tournaments here. It’s been a good track. They’ve had Challenge Tour events in the past, and a lot of major PGTI events. So yeah, I think that definitely helped.”

“I was really excited for this week because the Asian Tour is back in India after a while, and it’s damn good to have it in Kensville.”

Added event leader Chang, 127th on the Asian Tour merit list. “It’s a good result considering it’s my first time here.

“The greens were slower than I expected, but I adapted well and my course management was good.

“My game has been good lately. It’s my first time in India, I came for the experience, I came to win.”

High stakes

A win would most secure his playing rights for next year in one tournament. It’s the goal for everyone here this week.

Overall, it was a good day for the home challenge, with Ajeetesh Sandhu, Udayan Mane, Sachin Baisoya and amateur Ishaan Chawhan each shooting 67s to finish tied for sixth place along with Indian-American Varun Chopra.

Saptak Talwar, who split his time between the HotelPlanner Tour and the PGTI, was 3 under 69, as were veteran Naman Dawar, Sudhir Sharma and Gaurav Pratap Singh in a large pack tied at 17^e.

Also read: Stage for Bharat Classic Gujarat as Asian Tour returns to India

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