Anshul Mishra, Deepak Yadav hit the front as only three golfers return sub-par scores

Order of Merit leader Anshul Mishra came good on the homestretch to share the lead with Deepak Yadav on the opening day of the IGU Andhra Pradesh Amateur Golf Championship at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Even-par with three holes to go for the day, Mishra, a 10^th tee starter, birdied the seventh and eighth holes for his two-under 70. Yadav, playing two groups behind, shot a bogey-free 70 to join the Kolkata teenager at the top.

Only three golfers returned sub-par scores on a hot and humid day. Hiransh Singh of Delhi shot one-under 71 to stay a stroke behind the leaders. Maharashtra’s Shashank Sachin Gadre managed an even-par round to occupy the fourth place.

Five golfers, including Harjai Milkha Singh and Zoravar Randhawa, were tied sixth on two-over 74, a stroke behind Naveen Rathi.

Despite missing a few birdie putts in the seven to 10 feet range, Deepak Yadav, looking for his breakthrough victory, holed the ones that mattered

Mishra made his intentions pretty clear early on, picking up a shot on the par-5 12^th hole. Despite going over the green with his 5-wood second shot, the 17-year-old chipped to within 10 feet of the pin and sank that putt. He added another birdie on the 18^th, where he nailed the pin with his pitching wedge second shot, and tapped in the three-footer.

Mishra fritters away advantage after the turn

He frittered away the advantage after the turn, dropping shots on the first hole – where he three-putted from 40 feet – and the third, where he found the woods on the left with his driver tee shot and duly settled for a bogey five.

A long hitter, Mishra reached the green in two on the seventh hole and two-putted from 20 feet for a birdie. He hit his 9-iron tee shot to three feet on the eighth for another birdie.

Yadav, however, was pretty consistent right through. Despite missing a few birdie putts in the seven to 10 feet range, the Delhi golfer, looking for his breakthrough victory, holed the ones that mattered. He sank a tricky five-footer on the 15^th and holed a 15-footer on the seventh for his two-under 70.

Leading scores (after 18 holes): 70: Anshul Mishra (WB), Deepak Yadav (Del); 71: Hiransh Singh (Del); 72: Shashank Sachin Gadre (Mah); 73: Naveen Rathi (Har); 74: Tanish R Gowda (Kar), Ribhav Verma (Har), Zoravar Randhawa (Chd), Harjai Milkha Singh (Chd), Vinamra Anand (UP).