Jazz and Shubhankar on top in Bangladesh

Jazz and Shubhankar on top in Bangladesh

Panuphol two shots behind leading pair

Dhaka: Young Indian Shubhankar Sharma rode on his recent run of good form to sign for a superb seven-under-par 64, grabbing a share of the opening round lead with Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand at the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open yesterday.

The 20-year-old Indian, who finished third on his own in the last edition, fired nine birdies against two bogeys to lead by two shots alongside 21-year-old Jazz, who was equally impressive with one eagle and six birdies against a bogey, at the Kurmitola Golf Club.

Panuphol Pittayarat of Thailand carded a 66 to sit in third place while Singapore's Koh Deng Shan lurks three shots off the pace in fourth following a 67 at the US$300,000 event, which is the third leg of the Asian Tour schedule this season.

Buoyed by a tied-11th and a tied-ninth finishes in Singapore and Myanmar respectively over the last two weeks, Shubhankar, placed 10th on the current Order of Merit, hopes to ride high on his confidence and push for a breakthrough win this week.

"I am very happy with the round. I just hung in there and made all the crucial putts. I hit it pretty close for all the birdies I made today," said Shubhankar.

"Everything was good for me today. The shots that I missed, I didn't missed by much. It could have been better. I have been playing well. I am just riding on my good form. I was hoping to get a good start to the week and I did."

Jazz, playing in his first Asian Tour event this season, was thrilled to get off to a flying start. He is seeking a good result this week to redeem himself from the disappointment of losing his Tour card after finishing 63rd on the Merit rankings last season.

"Everything just came together. I didn't play that great today but somehow I managed to shoot a low score. I didn't make any big mistakes. I was able to hit most of the fairways," said Jazz.

"I found the fairway on seventh, hit a good approach shot to greenside before chipping in for eagle on seventh. It was a fairly easy chip as the distance was not that far.

"I made another chip-in for birdie on 12 too. That helped a lot in my game today. I didn't play here last year but I played the tournament two years back. The greens and the fairways are so much better now. I really enjoyed myself out there."

Panuphol said: "Shooting five-under-par is always good, no matter where. It's my third time coming back here and I think I like being back here."

Singapore's Mardan Mamat, who won the tournament two years ago, returned with a 72 while Indian star Jeev Milkha Singh carded a 74. Local hero Siddikur Rahman, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, battled to a 71 to tie in 29th position.

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