Digboi, Nov 20 (IANS): Noida’s Amardeep Malik, who missed the cut last week in Jaipur, fired a five-under 67 to take the lead at the end of the first round of the Servo Masters 2024 being played at the Digboi Golf Links here on Wednesday. Former champion Honey Baisoya of Delhi, Pune’s Divyansh Dubey, Bangladesh golfer Jamal Hossain, Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib Ahmed and Panchkula’s Abhishek Kumar were all tied for second place at four-under 68.
Deven Bhumij was the highest-placed among the Digboi-based professionals after he returned a round of 73 to be tied for 50th place.
Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya, last week’s winner in Jaipur, was one of the five players bunched in tied seventh place at 69. Two of the prominent names participating this week, Angad Cheema and Udayan Mane, struck scores of 72 to be tied for 36th.
Amardeep Malik, a two-time winner on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), mixed six birdies with a bogey during his opening round as he was glad to be back in the mix after a couple of ordinary weeks on tour. He found his groove as far as his hitting was concerned as he struck his tee shots well and landed his approaches within five to 10 feet of the flag on at least three occasions.
Malik said, “I had my best ball-striking day today in the last three weeks. This course requires you to be good off the tee and I did that well. I was also lucky with some of my putts rolling in.
“I was struggling with the timing of my hitting in recent weeks. But I had a few days after missing the cut in Jaipur and utilised that time well by working hard at getting the timing of my strokes back. I’m glad things are falling in place as a result of all that effort that I put in," he added. “It’s great to be back in Digboi for this event. I’ve been coming here to play the IndianOil SERVO Masters for nearly 20 years now. I thank IndianOil for their continued support to PGTI and Indian professionals through the staging of this event,” Malik said.
The tournament was inaugurated on Wednesday morning by Lt. Col. Ajay Kaila (Retd.), ED & Refinery Head, Digboi Refinery, who did the ceremonial tee-off, hoisted the IndianOil flag and planted a sapling at the Digboi Golf Links during the inauguration ceremony.