Sujjan shoots eight-under, takes lead in Indonesia

Pasuruan: Sujjan Singh fired a blistering eight-under-par 64 to set a new course record and create a two-stroke lead over local favourite Rory Hie after the first round of the Taman Dayu Championship, on Wednesday.

Sujjan, playing on an invite, posted nine birdies and one at the USD 75,000 Asian Development Tour at the picturesque Taman Dayu Golf Club and Resort. Two other Indians in the field, Ajeetesh Sandhu (76) and Gurbaaz Mann (79) were way behind in tied 77th and 95th place respectively. Sujjan, who is also an accomplished drummer, has not enjoyed the best of results on the Asian Tour this season but returned to his best form after changing his grip to overwrite the previous course record of 67. "My form has been patchy. I`ve changed a lot of things in my game in the last few months. The reason why I wanted to play here is because I wanted to put to use what I`ve changed and it seems to be alright," said Sujjan. "Any golfer would know that once you change your grip, your swing will feel brand new. For a few months, I`ve been hitting the ball sideways but now it is all getting together. I made my grip more neutral and I`m hitting it more comfortably now," Sujjan, who also played squash in Chandigarh, added. Anthony Choat of Australia, who plays on the Indian domestic Tour also, and Tseng Hong-sheng of Chinese Taipei were tied third on 67s while Hsieh Chi-hsien was a further shot back in the inaugural ADT event. PTI