Akshay Sharma, Manu Gandas share lead at Telangana Open

Chandigarh's Akshay Sharma and Gurugram's Manu Gandas carded matching seven-under 65s to share a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Telangana Open here on Tuesday, August 25.

Paired together, the two experienced campaigners reached the top of the leaderboard in contrasting fashion.

Akshay made a flying start with four consecutive birdies from the first through the fourth. A bogey on the par-five fifth briefly halted his momentum, but he responded with four more birdies to complete his round.

Manu, on the other hand, made two birdies and a bogey on the front nine before a late flourish of an eagle and four birdies on the back nine.

Hyderabad-based 19-year-old Vishesh Sharma and Delhi's Rashid Khan shared third place at six-under 66, one shot behind the leaders.

Vishesh produced a bogey-free round featuring six birdies on his return to competition, having been sidelined by illness for a couple of weeks after missing the cut at the J&K Open three weeks ago.

Rashid put together an eventful 66 featuring an eagle on the par-four third, six birdies and two bogeys.

Noida's Lakshya Nagar also kept a clean card, making five birdies in a bogey-free five-under 67 to occupy fifth place.

DP World PGTI Order of Merit leader Saptak Talwar returned an even-par 72 to finish the day tied 43rd.

Hyderabad's Mohd Azhar, who secured his maiden professional title at last week's Kolar Open, carded a one-over 73 and was tied 51st.

The opening round was suspended due to fading light, with 27 players out of a total of 132 still on the course. Play will resume on Wednesday morning at 6:45 am local time, when the remaining players will complete their rounds.

(Inputs from PTI)