Sharma opens with four-under 68 in Northern India golf

Gurgaon: Arjun Sharma opened a two-shot lead with a fine four-under 68 at the end of the first round of the Northern India Amateur Championships at the par-72 Golden Greens on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old Sharma, who plays regularly at the Army Golf Course, had seven birdies against three bogeys in the IGU-sanctioned event and he was two better than second-placed Harimohan Singh (70) of Noida Golf Course. Bangalore`s Khalin Joshi, one of the most promising young golfers in India, was tied with Harimohan in second place at 70. Ashbeer Saini and Simranpreet, both of whom hail from RCF Kapurthala Golf course, which has also produced Gaganjeet Bhullar, were among the five players who shot 71 each. The other three were Bangalore trio of Syed Saqib Ahmed, Trishul Chinappa and Udayan Mane. A total of only eight players from the 71, who teed off, came under par. Sharma birdied the third and the seventh but dropped a bogey on fourth as he turned in one-under. On the back nine, he birdied the 10th and 11th to go three-under before he had a bogey on 13th. Then birdies on 14th and 15th saw him get back on the path for a good score. A bogey on 16th was quickly offset with a birdie on 17th for a card of 68. Harimohan had four birdies and two bogeys, while Khalin had three birdies and just one bogey on the par-4 seventh. PTI