Bengaluru's M Dharma blasted a seven-under 65 to take the opening round lead at the PGTI Eagleburg Masters at Eagleton Golf Resort here today.
Kolkata's Shankar Das was on the leader's tail with a score of six-under 66.
The Bengaluru duo of Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi and Delhi's Honey Baisoya were bunched together in tied third at five-under-67.
Dharma, a winner on the PGTI back in 2013, had a productive front-nine where he made four birdies and a bogey. The bogey on the 10th didn't seem to unsettle the 30-year-old as he roared back with five straight birdies from the 11th to the 15th.
Dharma, who is currently lying seventh in the Rolex Ranking, narrowly missed out on eagle opportunities on two occasions, the fourth and 15th, where his chip shots stopped just short of the hole.
Dharma attributed his solid first round effort to the hard yards he put in over the last three weeks at Eagleton with focus on his short-game.
"I was good around the greens today. I made two brilliant par saves from the bunker. I believe the hard work that I have recently put into my short-game, is paying off now.
"Since my maiden win in 2013, my hitting kept improving, but on the other hand, I just lost the measure of my short-game. The problem affected my game for the last 2 years.
"In order to sort out my game, my friend Chikkarangappa, convinced me to work on my weaknesses along with him. He gave me a lot of valuable inputs as both of us put in long hours of practice at Eagleton in the run-up to this event.
"The best thing about being around Chikka is that he never talks about the negatives after a particular round. He always focuses on the positive aspects and moves on. This approach of Chikka's, has also helped me grow in confidence."
Shankar managed to get in just a few days of practice prior to the event as he recovered from a two-week layoff due to fever. However, armed with a new set of irons, the six-time winner on the PGTI, made waves in the opening round at Eagleton, thanks to seven birdies and a bogey.
Reigning Rolex Ranking champion Chikkarangappa fired an error-free 65 at his home course to end the day in tied third. Fellow Bengalurean Khalin Joshi and Delhi's Honey Baisoya shared the third spot with Chikka.
Rahil Gangjee and Udayan Mane, two more Bengaluru-based professionals, were in tied sixth at four-under-68 along with Vipin Raghuvanshi of Mhow.
Arjun Sharma of Greater Noida made a hole-in-one on the eighth during his round of one-under-71. He was placed tied 22nd.
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