Visakhapatnam: Teenage rookie Milind Soni of Hyderabad hogged the limelight on day one of the INR 1 crore Vizag Open 2024 by scorching the course with an eight-under 63 to take a three-shot lead at the East Point Golf Club (EPGC) in Visakhapatnam. Two of the pre-tournament favourites, Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru and Patna’s Aman Raj were tied second with scores of five-under 66. Nineteen-year-old Milind Soni, who has so far posted one top-10 in his rookie season, was off to a great start with a birdie on the 10th, his opening hole of the tournament. Milind, in terrific form with the putter, then sank four birdies from a range of 15 to 20 feet. Thereafter, Soni made more gains with his exceptional approach shots that set up birdies on the fourth and seventh. Milind finally capped off his flawless round with another long conversion on the eighth. Soni, who has been India’s No. 1 Junior and No. 2 Amateur in the past, said, “With narrow fairways and thick rough here at the EPGC, there was a premium on hitting greens in regulation and I made 16 regulations today. My putter was hot and I hardly missed any putts. “I have good memories of the EPGC having won my second and last amateur title here back in 2022. I also had a third-place finish at an amateur event here in 2023. So, despite missing the cut at my home course last week in Hyderabad, I came into this event with a lot of confidence. “As the weather conditions were very tough with the heat and humidity making life tough for the professionals, I adapted well by keeping myself hydrated and wiping my hands regularly.” Khalin Joshi too produced an error-free round. His five birdies featured a couple of tap-ins including one on the eighth where he narrowly missed a hole-in-one. Aman Raj made six birdies including a chip-in against a lone bogey. Reigning champion N Thangaraja of Sri Lanka fired a 70 to be tied 21st. Among the Visakhapatnam-based golfers, S Muthu (75) was the highest-placed at tied 93rd.

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