IGPL Tour: Aman Raj continues amazing run with bogey-free 61, leads Kolkata leg by four shots

Kolkata, Oct 29 (IANS) Aman Raj continued from where he had left off last week with another 9-under 61 to open a big four-shot lead over Aalaap IL (65) at the end of the first round of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Invitational Kolkata hosted by SSP Chawrasia at the Tollygunge Golf Club.

On an overcast day during which play was suspended for just under an hour due to the threat of lightning, the players handled the stoppage and wet conditions well. As many as 26 players shot par or better.

Aman Raj, who is on a comeback from a shoulder injury that hampered part of the 2024 season and the early part of 2025, produced a bogey-free 61, his third such score in the last four rounds. Aman Raj shot 61 in the first and second rounds of the IGPL Jaipur and produced another one at Tollygunge on Wednesday.

Aman birdied the third, sixth, seventh, and ninth. He added further gains on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, and 16th.

Aalaap, who was in the Top-10 in Pune, shot one of his best rounds of the season. After starting from the tenth, he had three birdies and an eagle and no bogeys.

The top woman star was Rhea Purvi, just outside the Top-10 at 2-under 68 and Tied-11th with six others. Kartik Singh, who has had a great run so far, was off colour as he shot 3-over and was way down in Tied-40th place.

Aman Raj, the 30-year-old Patna golfer now based in Gurgaon, has been dividing his time between domestic events and international events on the Asian Tour. Last week, he ended a 22-month title drought by winning IGPL Jaipur. Pleased with his show, Aman Raj said, “It is very satisfying to be able to come up with a string of low scores. The confidence and the game have slowly been coming back.”

After picking birdies in half of the 18 holes he played, he still felt that there was some way to go before he is fully fit. Mysuru-based Aalaap was second at 5-under 65, while four players, including the Bengaluru boy, Syed Saqib Ahmed, Olympian Udayan Mane, playing only his second IGPL event, left-hander Kartik Sharma, and Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan, were tied for third place at 4-under 66.

Aman Raj’s game featured a lot of fairways, and when he did miss, his iron play ensured he was on the greens regularly. Aman Raj shares, “That gave me a lot of birdie opportunities, and I converted a lot of them. In addition to the birdies, there were some very good pars. When I did miss the greens, I chipped and putted very well. I almost put all my putts from inside 8-10 feet and some from much further, so it was a good day with the putter.”

Pleased with the day’s work, Aman added, “All parts of the game are coming together. It feels like all the work, all the rehab, all the work is paying off, and things are coming together. I'm still working it out. I know I am sore (left shoulder) sometimes, but I am still working it out. Yesterday was a very important physio session. I couldn't swing the club, but the physio helped, and now today was great. Now I need to keep things together.”

Aman Raj is trying to emulate Gaganjeet Bhullar’s feat of back-to-back wins in the first two events at Chandigarh and Jaypee Greens.

Udayan Mane, who was Tied-sixth in his maiden IGPL start in Jaipur, opened with 4-under 66 and was Tied-third, said, “I made two mistakes and paid with a bogey and a double bogey. Yet I must play well. I think I hit the ball really well today. I had a lot of fairways. The two fairways that I missed, I paid the price with a double bogey and a bogey. I chipped well, hit my irons solid, and I putted well. I had a bunch of birdies, seven in all. But because of the double and the one bogey I had, the scorecard does not reflect my game. However, I'm just grateful to be playing at Tolly and grateful to my wife for being here for the support. It has been an important and big decision for me to play the IGPL, and I am grateful to have this opportunity.”

Two seasoned stars, Chiragh Kumar, a former Asian Tour winner and Asian Games team medallist, Harendra Gupta, a multiple winner on the domestic front, Samarth Dwivedi, and amateur Aryav Shah were tied seventh as they shot 3-under 67 each.

Kapil Kumar, winner of the IGPL Pune, was among the seven players in tied-11th place at 2-under. Others at 2-under were Rhea Purvi, Pukhraj Singh Gill, Yashas Chandra, Aryan Roopa Anand, Raghav Chugh, and Sydney Chugh.

--IANS

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