Pukhraj Singh Gill lies second as four other Indians are tied sixth at Bharath Classic

Chandigarh-based Pukhraj Singh Gill produced a career-best six-under 66 to lie second after the opening day of the inaugural Bharath Classic 2025 Gujarat on Thursday, an event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Tour.

Using a new putter, Gill, a tenth-tee starter, had eight birdies against two bogeys in an aggressive display at the challenging Kensville course. Gill, a winner on the IGPL Tour in Jamshedpur, is two shots behind Korean Heemin Chang who took the lead on Day One of the inaugural $5,00,000 Bharath Classic.

Lying tied second with Gill are Korean Wooyoung Cho, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Poosit Supupramai, who shot 66 each. Playing the course without a practice round because he arrived only late Wednesday night, Chang shot an eight-under-par 64, including an eagle on the Par-4 15th hole. He had seven birdies and an eagle against one lone bogey on the Par-5 14th.

Indians had a good day in office with four others -- Ajeetesh Sandhu, Olympian Udayan Mane, Sachin Baisoya and amateur Ishaan Chawhan -- shooting five-under 67 each to be tied-sixth. Indian-American Varun Chopra also carded a 67 as eight players were bunched at tied-sixth. It also included recent Asian Tour winner, Ekpharit Wu of Thailand.

Saptak Talwar, who divided his time between the HotelPlanner Tour and the Indian Tour, shot three-under 69 as did veteran Naman Dawar, Sudhir Sharma and Gaurav Pratap Singh in a big bunch at tied-17th. The IGPL has three more events on its 2025 calendar, while it is the penultimate tournament of the season on the Asian Tour.

It is an important week for those hoping to make up ground on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit to secure playing privileges for next year. The top four on the IGPL will get a spot into the final stage of the Asian Tour Q-School and a place in 2026 International Series India.  Gill is two shots behind Korean Heemin Chang, who took the lead on Day One of the inaugural $5,00,000 Bharath Classic .