Bhullar blasts into lead after round one

Gaganjeet Bhullar blasted a flawless six-under 66 to lead the field by three strokes after the first round of the PGTI Players Championship golf tournament here on Wednesday.

The Kapurthala pro picked up a stroke in his back nine and followed it up with a hat-trick of birdies from first to third before picking up two more shots on the sixth and seventh holes.

Chiragh Kumar, Vikrant Chopra and Nabin Mandal lie tied second, carding a three-under 69 at the Aamby Valley Golf Club here.

“I could’ve had an even better start today had it not been for two poor chip shots on the 12th and 14th. Even though I missed a few short putts today, I’m quite satisfied with my effort,” said Bhullar, who is currently the leader in the PGTI Order of Merit for 2009.

Vinod Kumar, Rafick Ali Mollah and Rahil Gangjee share fifth place at two-under 70. Kunal Bhasin, Raju Ali Mollah, Manav Jaini, Himmat Singh Rai, Arjun Singh and Ranjit Singh are a further stroke behind in tied eighth place.