Bhubaneswar: The Haryana duo of Divesh Rana and Umed Kumar fired scores of five-under 67 to take the joint lead in round one of the PGTI NEXGEN’s Dilip Tirkey Invitational 2025, being played at the Bhubaneswar Golf Club.
Saurav Rathi and Bipin Mukhiya were placed two shots behind the joint leaders in tied third place at PGTI’s first-ever event being played in the state of Odisha.
Pradeep Bhagat was the highest-placed among the local professionals at the INR 20 lakh event after he shot a 77 to be tied 37th in the 58-man field.
The 27-year-old Divesh Rana, who hails from Faridabad, collected four birdies on the first 10 holes as he landed a couple of shots within two feet of the flag. After dropping a bogey on the 13th, the strongly-built Divesh regained his touch with a brilliant tee shot on the Par-4 15th that stopped just half a foot from the pin, resulting in an eagle for him.
Divesh said, “It was a great experience playing here at the Bhubaneswar Golf Club for the first time. The greens at this course are in top shape. Importantly, I was very consistent off the tees, which helped me negotiate the narrow fairways well. I missed a hole-in-one on the Par-4 15th by a whisker, where my tee shot landed half a foot from the hole. This round gives me confidence going forward.”
Umed Kumar of Chandimandir, a winner on the NEXGEN this year and currently placed second in the Order of Merit, also carded a 67 featuring six birdies and a bogey to join Divesh at the top. Umed, who is eyeing the number one spot in the rankings in order to earn his exemption on the PGTI’s main tour next year, was solid with the putter as he holed a 20-footer and four other birdie putts from a range of seven to 10 feet.
The 24-year-old Umed said, “I made most of the fairways today, and my approach shots were excellent. That set up a good score for me. This course is a lot like my home course in Chandimandir, so I’m quite comfortable playing here.”
(IANS)
