Lahiri leads on day one of PGTI Players C`ship

Pune: Anirban Lahiri celebrated his 23rd birthday in style as he blasted a superb seven under 65 to

take the lead on day one of the Aircel PGTI Players Championship here on Tuesday. Himmat Singh Rai was one stroke off the lead in second place. Lahiri made eight birdies and a lone bogey in his opening round as the Aircel PGTI made its debut at the magnificent Oxford Golf and Country Club. Lahiri, who started from the 10th tee, was in good hitting form and as a result found himself at five under after nine holes. He chipped-in from the back edge for his fourth birdie of the day on the 16th. The Bangalore golfer produced his best shot of the round on the 17th, a tough par three, where his tee shot landed six feet from the pin and resulted in a birdie. Lahiri added three more birdies and a bogey to his card on the back nine. "I hit it good and played the par 3s well. The par three holes on this course are quite challenging and I managed to make birdies on two of them, the 17th and the eighth, as I hit it within six feet of the pin on these holes. I think I have given myself a great birthday present with this wonderful start," said Lahiri. Delhi-based Himmat fired an impressive six under 66 to be placed second. His round featured eight birdies and two bogeys. He closed his round on a high as he landed his approach shot from 225 yards to within eight feet of the flag for a birdie on the ninth. "I`ve been playing well since last week and my putting has been consistent. I have worked on a couple of things in my game that are now settling down," Himmat said. C Muniyappa lies third at four under 68 while Gaganjeet Bhullar, Karanjit Singh Sandhu, Mohd Nawab, Sudhir Sharma and Ranjit Singh Rathore are tied fourth at three under 69. Local lad Rajiv Datar is tied 25th at one over 73 while other Pune-based professionals Gurki Shergill, Jaideep Patwardhan and Pravin Pathare are tied 45th with identical scores of three over 75. Dinesh Raghuvanshi of Pune lies tied 72nd at six over 78. PTI