Harendra, Shamim in joint lead

Domestic tour pros Harendra Gupta and Shamim Khan shared the lead at the end of Round One of the CG Open, which began at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club here on Wednesday. Gupta and Khan shot identical scores of five-under-65 at the end of the first round.

The tournament features Asian Tour regulars, including SSP Chowrasia, reigning Panasonic Open champion Digvijay Singh and Chiragh Kumar. While Chowrasia was placed sixth (two under 72), Digvijay and Kumar are placed 19th and 32nd respectively.

Kumar, who had a fantastic 2011 and was the Professional Golf Tour of India’s (PGTI) player of the year, will seek for a better second round. He is currently placed 42nd in the PGTI Order of Merit. Even in the Asian Order of Merit, Kumar’s rankings have fallen to 109 from 21 last year. Asked about the reason for the decline, Kumar said: “I have been playing well, but have not been able to finish properly. I hope I play well here and end the year on a high.”

In contrast, Digvijay has climbed to No 4 in this year’s PGTI rankings from 27 in 2011. But ranking’s something that does not bother the Delhi pro. He said: “I just want to play good golf at the moment and not focus on the rankings.”

The tournament holds greater significance this year as two top-ranked Indians by October 15, according to the PGTI rankings, will get spots in the Barclays Singapore Open.