Khalin Joshi shot one-over 73 and was lying tied 18th at the end of the first round of the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic, here today.
Joshi, whose best on Asian Tour has been second place at the Bangladesh Open last year, is five shots behind the leader, Danny Masrin of Indonesia.
This week Joshi is the only Indian in the field. Last week in Manila, Joshi was tied 13th. Indonesia's Danny Masrin battled the gusty conditions before signing for an opening four-under-par 68 to lead by two shots.
The 23-year-old Masrin, playing in only his second season on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), fired five birdies against a lone bogey to hold his ground at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club, where the wind speed of the day averaged up to 30 kilometres per hour.
Australian Gavin Fairfax shared second place with local duo Michael Bibat and Jun Bernis while Jay Bayron, Janne Kaske of Finland and Thailand's Kasidit Lepkurte were among those bunched in fifth place following matching 71s at the US$60,000 event.
The ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic is the 11th leg of the 2016 ADT schedule and also the Tour's second stop in the Philippines this season. The winner will take home a prize purse of USD 10,500 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2017.
