“I loved the first time when I was here for the Surya Nepal Masters in 2008. However, I was disappointed with my show then and wanted to make amends,” said the 20-year-old Rashid who has a one-stroke lead over fellow Indian golfer Mandeo Singh Pathania. Pathania shot a blemish-free round of 66.[break]
Sri Lankan Mithun Perera and Harendra Gupta of India were two shots further behind to share the third spot at 68 in the tournament that has a total cash prize of Rs 4 million.
Nepali professionals Shiva Ram Shreshta and Toran Bikram Shahi and former Indian Open winner Feroz Ali opened with a score of three-under par 69 to be tied for the fifth place.
Former winner of Surya Nepal Masters Shamim Khan shared the eighth spot with Nepali amateur Samundra Giri at 70.
Among the other top Nepali players, Rabi Khadka was tied for the 10th place at 71 along with amateur Tashi Tsering and Sanjay Kumar. Ramesh Nagarkoti shot a level-par 72 to be tied for the 17th place. Sharma brothers Surya and Pashupati along with Deepak Thapa Magar, winner of 2007 Surya Nepal Masters, and Deepak Acharya were all tied for the 19th place at 73.
Other players to be tied at 71 were India´s Arjun Singh Chaudhary, Raju Ali Mollah, Arshdeep Tiwana and Gurbaaz Mann.
A total of 104 golfers from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates teed off in the morning under brilliant weather conditions that acted as an icing on the cake. The second round tees off at 7:30 am Friday and the entry is free for the spectators.
A birdie on the opening hole set the tone for the day for Rashid as he saved three more strokes on the 3rd, 8th and 9th to take the turn at 4-under.
The pro from Delhi Golf Club showing some good golf course management, eagled the par-5 11th after teeing off with a 3-iron and using the same club for his second. This was followed by a 15-footer for an eagle. He made consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th before three-putting on the 17th for the only mistake of the day.
“My hitting was extremely good today. I had learnt a lot of lessons on my previous visit and my aim was to keep the ball in play. I am happy that I managed to do so,” said Rashid who missed a solitary green.
Related story
Inspirational Rashid Khan leads Sunrisers Hyderabad to 13-run w...
