The first-ever competitive round at the pristine Fairway Golf & Lake Resort in Naya Raipur produced some stunning scores as Shaurya Binu returned a remarkable nine-under 60 to take the first-round lead at the INR 1 crore SECL Chhattisgarh Open 2025 presented by Chhattisgarh Tourism.
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Harshjeet Singh Sethie and Honey Baisoya as well as Mani Ram also carded sizzling scores of eight-under 61 at the Par-69 course to be placed tied second.
Shaurya, a two-time winner on the PGTI last season, began the day on a positive note with three birdies on the first five holes where he sank putts from a range of 10 to 20 feet. The only blip in his round was the bogey on the sixth where he three-putted.
The 20-year-old Shaurya came back strongly with two birdies and an eagle on the next three holes where he made two conversions from 10 to 15 feet. Shaurya then powered ahead by picking up three more strokes on the back-nine courtesy a couple of quality wedge shots and a mammoth 35-feet conversion on the 17th.
Shaurya said, “I really enjoyed playing at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort for the first time. The greens are rolling well and are in great condition. I was eager to start this week well since I missed the cut in the first two events of the season. I’ve been focusing on my swing and rhythm. The effort is to keep the same tempo. I executed that well today.
“After the practice round, I realized one can miss it on the right on this course. I then planned accordingly for the tournament.
“Even though it’s a short course, it offers a variety of challenges such as playing some of the Par-3s in headwind while looking to hit the comparatively smaller greens. The hazards and out of bounds come into play on most of the holes.”
Harshjeet, a winner on the PGTI in 2023, made two chip-ins and rolled in a couple of putts from 30 to 50 feet during his outstanding round of 61.
Honey made birdies on his first five holes during his round of 61 to be part of a three-way tie for second place.
Mani posted a bogey-free 61 to also occupy joint second position.
Among the prominent names, Udayan Mane (63) was tied seventh, Om Prakash Chouhan (66) was tied 34th, Manu Gandas (67) was tied 48th, Aman Raj (69) was tied 79th and Rashid Khan (70) was tied 95th.
