Ranveer Mitroo leads opening day at Andhra Pradesh Amateur Golf Championship

Delhi teenager Ranveer Mitroo fired a five-under 66 to grab the opening-day lead at the IGU Andhra Pradesh Amateur Golf Championship in Visakhapatnam. Strong finishes from Deepak Yadav and Puthuru Raj Kumar kept the leaderboard close after the first round

Hyderabad: After a relatively slow start, Ranveer Mitroo found his rhythm and range on the back nine to hit the front on the opening day of the IGU Andhra Pradesh Amateur Golf Championship at the East Point Golf Club in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old Delhi lad, playing his first full season on the amateur circuit, shot a five-under 66 for a one-shot lead. Deepak Yadav and Telangana’s Puthuru Raj Kumar were tied second on four-under 67, one ahead of Sukhman Singh.

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On a day when 16 golfers shot sub-par rounds, Order of Merit leader Arin Ahuja was tied fifth on two-under 69, while six amateurs, including last week’s winner Anshul Ahuja, were tied 11th on one-under 70.

Mitroo, who has had a clutch of impressive finishes in junior events overseas in recent months, got off to a poor start, finding the trees on the right with his 3-wood tee shot and ending up with a bogey six. After a 20-foot birdie putt on the 12th, the teenager’s wayward tee shot saw him drop another shot on the 15th hole.

Mitroo, however, put that behind him and got down to work on his second nine. He looked a different player altogether, solid off the tee and accurate with his approaches, which explains the mere 24 putts he took for the round. He picked up birdies on the first, fourth, fifth and eighth holes, and had a brilliant chip-in from 15 yards for an eagle three on the seventh hole.

“Although I didn’t have a good start, the round was great overall,” said Mitroo.

Leading scores (after 18 holes): 66: Ranveer Mitroo; 67: Deepak Yadav, Puthuru Raj Kumar; 68: Sukhman Singh; 69: Akash Kumar, Harman Sachdeva, Arkin Patil, Krish Chawla, Akshat Sharma, Arin Ahuja.