Vihaan Jain overcame a few late hiccups on the homestretch to shoot a sizzling five-under 67 on the opening day of the IGU Andhra Pradesh Junior Boys Golf Championship at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
Vihaan, who lost the same event in a playoff last year, took a three-shot lead over Bengaluru’s Ishnidh Virdi and Arjun Dahiya in Category ‘A’ (15-17 years). Prince Bainsla, who won the season’s first event, was fourth with a one-under 71. Harjai Milkha Singh, the Order of Merit leader, shot even-par 72 to share the fifth spot with three others.
Vihaan got off to a three-putt bogey on the opening hole, but the 16-year-old quickly got into his stride with a birdie on the par-3 second, where he holed a 30-foot putt. After picking up another shot on the fourth, Vihaan soared to the top with an eagle on the seventh hole. He reached the green in two and sank a 20-footer.
Continuing his strong run, the Delhi lad picked up further shots on the eighth, 10th and 11th holes to go to six-under. However, blustery conditions on the back nine hampered his round. He missed the greens on the par-3 13th and 16th, resulting in dropped shots. Although he birdied the 15th and 17th holes, a bogey on the closing 18th saw him finish with a 67.
Chaitanya and Aman tied for the lead
In Category ‘B’ (13-14 years), Delhi’s Chaitanya Pandey and Aman Oswal of Maharashtra were tied for the lead with an identical even-par 72 cards. Order of Merit leader Jaibir Singh Kang (77) was fourth, two shots behind Aditya Misra.
Leading scores (after 18 holes): Category ‘A’ (15-17 years): 67: Vihaan Jain (Del); 70: Ishnidh Virdi (Kar), Arjun Dahiya (Har); 71: Prince Bainsla (Har); 72: Harjai Milkha Singh (Chd), Chaitanya Pandey (Del), Shashank Sachin Gadre (Mah), Aman Oswal (Mah).
Category ‘B’ (13-14): 72: Chaitanya Pandey, Aman Oswal; 75: Aditya Misra; 77: Jaibir Singh Kang; 78: Saatvic Kumar Singh (Tel); 79: Aditya Tiwari (Kar).
