A filling lamb curry dinner with close friend Shiv Kapur did the trick for Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul as he grabbed the round one lead at the McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 courtesy a superb six-under-66 here today.
Playing on a sponsor invite and making his debut at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the two-time Asian Tour winner was one shot ahead of second-placed Khalin Joshi who is a major contender for the Rolex Ranking title in the Order of Merit.
"I ate an amazing lamb curry, it was very much like eating Thai and completely felt myself at home," the 32-year-old who began the tournament with a birdie on the first, said.
Aided by a hot putter, Pariya made an eagle and three birdie conversions from a range of 10 to 15 feet.
Amardip Sinh Malik was the star of the day as the Noida golfer defied a dislocated finger to fire a hole-in-one on the second that propelled him to tied third place at four-under-68 along with Chandigarh's Ranjit Singh.
Ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, playing in the marquee group of the day alongside the other two biggest names in the field -- Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa, was also off to a solid start as he posted a three-under-69 to be tied fifth. He fared the best among India's international stars with six birdies and three bogeys.
Pariya of Bangkok conceded his only shot of the day after missing out on an up and down from the bunker on the 13th. He finally closed the day on a positive note by picking up a stroke on the 18th after landing his approach within a foot.
"I'm quite happy with this start as I'm playing on this course for the first time. I found most fairways and my short-game bailed me out whenever I missed the greens. I think 16 or 17 under will be a winning score here. It will be nice to end the year with a winning cheque."
Khalin Joshi ignited his Rolex Ranking title in the Order of Merit with a bogey-free 67 in round one.
The highlight of his round was the recovery from the rough on the ninth where his approach landed within three feet of the pin to set up a birdie.
Joshi is currently in third place in the Rolex Ranking and trails the leader Shubhankar Sharma by less than Rs 5 lakhs in prize money.
A win this week would assure him of the Rolex Player of the Year title.
Malik put up a gallant show with a 68 which featured a hole-in-one on the second.
A winner on the PGTI in 2014, Malik began the week with a bogey on the first but then fired an ace on the next as his seven-iron tee shot found the hole after the second bounce.
"It's my first hole-in-one since I started playing golf 16 years back. I really could not believe it at first. I felt good about my hitting from there on and carried forward the momentum. The finger pains every time I hit a shot so this round and the hole-in-one are all the more special," Malik said.
Ranjit Singh joined Amardip in third place. He produced an eagle on the 15th from 25 feet.
Delhi's Honey Baisoya, currently fifth in the Rolex Ranking, shared fifth place with Jeev on day one.
The eight golfers bunched together in tied seventh at two-under-70 were Jyoti Randhawa, SSP Chawrasia, Shamim Khan, Rolex Ranking leader Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Bangladesh's Md Zamal Hossain Mollah and Sanjeev Kumar.
Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shiv Kapur were a further shot back in tied 15th while Arjun Atwal was tied 26th at one-over-73.
Defending champion Chikkarangappa of Bengaluru was in tied 33rd place after his opening round of 74.
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