A birdie burst over his final four holes gave Germany’s Yannik Paul the clubhouse lead at seven-under-par 65 on the opening day of the US$2 million Hero Indian Open 2023 at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
Paul, who finished second at last week’s DP World Tour event in Thailand, overtook local boy Honey Baisoya, who had led for much of the day with his six-under 66 even as fading light forced the final two groups off the course.
Related: Quickfix session with coach aids Honey Baisoya
Finland’s Mikko Korhonen was another to make a late run at the top, holding sole third place with a solid five-under 67 that included an eagle three on the Par-5 eighth hole. But it was Paul’s four birdies in his closing four holes that really turned things over at the top.
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The familiarity with the DLF Golf and Country Club layout paid rich dividends for Honey, who confessed he plays the course every day if he is in town. Shubhankar Sharma was tied fourth with his friend from Chandigrah Angad Cheema and Iceland’s Gudmundur Kristjansson, with the trio shooting 68 each. Marcel Siem of Germany, who is back on the main Tour after getting his rights at the Qualifying School, was sole seventh at 69.
Paul was thrilled with his play and said, “Obviously, I played well today. I knew it’s a challenging course and I just tried to, you know, focus on one shot at a time,” the 28-year-old said after his round.
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“And I had, obviously a great finish. I think four birdies in the last four holes. That helps. So, tomorrow’s a new day, just focus on what I can control and see where you end up.”
Paul was one shy of Shubhankar’s course record of eight-under 64 and his eagle putt on the closing Par-5 18th hole just slid by the pin. Playing in the group just ahead, 2022 PGTI Order of Merit topper Manu Gandas (70) too narrowly missed adding an eagle to his name on the 18th.
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In the morning, it was Honey who set the pace with a blistering round that saw him add eight birdies to his card against a double-bogeyed Par-4 14th hole. Playing in the afternoon, Paul picked up the same number of shots against a bogey on his opening hole.
“It was pretty good,” said Honey about his day. “You’re going to miss a few out there. That’s okay. I made eight birdies and a double bogey. Just made one error on the 14th hole. But that’s how DLF is, if you make one bad shot, you’re going to come up with a bogey or even a double.”
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“I made some really good putts today too. The highlight of the day would be on the 16th hole. I hit my ball to the left where it hit a tree and came back about 30 yards. And I had about 40 yards to the flag, made the chip and putt. That was very satisfying.”
