Yannik Paul (Ger) shot a first round seven under par 65 to lead by one shot in the $2 million Hero Indian Open at DLF G&CC, New Delhi on the DP World Tour.
28 year-old Paul, winner of the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open and runner-up in last week’s Thailand Classic is currently 23rd on the Race to Dubai Rankings.
He started with a bogey five on hole one, and then steadied his round with two birdies on holes two and nine to be out in 35.
Paul came alive on the back nine with birdies on holes 10 and 13 and then finished his round with four consecutive birdies to hand in a scorecard of 30 shots for the last nine.
On completing his round Paul said, ‘I obviously played well today. I knew it was a challenging course but I just tried to focus on one shot at a time.
‘I had a great finish - that helps, but tomorrow is a new day so I’ll focus on what I can control and see where I end up.
‘It's my sixth week in a row so I took it pretty easy Monday through Wednesday because after a long stretch you can just feel it here, feel it there. I just played a nine-hole Pro-Am yesterday afternoon then walked the back nine on Tuesday, just to conserve as much energy as I could because I knew it would be challenging here, mentally as well as with the golf shots.’
India’s Honey Baisoya is one shot back on six under par.
26 year-old Baisoya started from the first tee, opening up with a five birdie front nine of 31 and came home in 35.
He gains entry into the Hero Indian Open by virtue of Category 8, National spots on the PGTI, and has seven career wins on the domestic Indian Tour.
On a perfect day for weather the Gary Player designed course, hosting the tournament for the fifth time, is always a stiff examination paper, evidenced by no one in the field of 120 players avoiding a bogey on the card all day.
Only 23 players in the field are under par on day one with a few players still on the course when play was suspended due to failing light, who will complete their rounds early in the morning.
Defending champion Stephen Gallacher (Scot), two-time Dubai Desert Classic winner, who won this event in 2019, shot a five over par 77 and needs a much improved second round to make the 36 hole cut.
Dubai based Shiv Kapur (Ind) had a disappointing 75. Prior to the round Shiv said, ‘I have not had the success I would have liked in my National Open or on this course. There is always that special home support and I hope to take advantage of this.’
There is a projected 9.29 OWGR points to the winner this week.
First Round Leaders (7393 Yards, Par 72)
1 - Y. Paul (Ger) 65 (-7)
2 - H. Baisoya (Ind) 66 (-6)
3 - M. Korhonen (Fin) 67 (-5)
4 - S. Sharma (Ind) 68 (-4)
- A. Cheema (Ind) 68 (-4)
- G. Kristjansson (Ice) 68 (-4)
