KOLKATA: Ahmedabad’s Anshul Patel turned in a sizzling first-round 9-under 63 to lead by three shots on day one of the 21st IndianOil Servo Masters at the Digboi Golf Links on Wednesday.

Patel’s friend and roommate Shravan Desai were tied second on 6-under 66 at the Rs. 60 lakh event alongside Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu.

The start was delayed by 75 minutes by fog and as a result, 18 players out of a total of 117 could not finish their first round on Wednesday.

They will come back and resume their round at 6 am local time on Thursday.

Left-handed rookie Patel, ranked 74th in the PGTI Order of Merit and fighting for a spot in the top-60 to retain his card, played some great wedge shots on the back nine that helped him set up four of his five birdies before the turn.

He also had a 20-foot conversion on the 16th and a bogey on the 17th.

The 26-year-old, playing at Digboi for only the second time, landed it close yet again on the second, third and eighth to pick up three more shots.

Patel found the green in two on the closing par-5 ninth before draining an eight-footer for eagle to end up with his lowest score in a tournament.

IN THE ZONE

“I felt I was in the zone since the start of the day. I knew if my putts rolled in, I would shoot a good number today,” Patel said.

“Closing the day with birdie-eagle on the last two holes did a lot for my confidence.

“I’ve been trying to figure out a few things about my game and from the Srinagar event onwards in September I picked up a few things on how I should play around my strengths.

“That’s given some direction to my game. I’m still looking to putt better though.”

Fellow-rookie Desai shot an error-free 66 in his very first competitive round at the Digboi Golf Links.

Desai, currently 68th on the PGTI’s money list, is also vying for a spot in the top-60 to retain his PGTI card. On the day he made two 12 to 15-foot conversions on Wednesday.

At Srinagar in September, Desai finished in the top 10.

Sandhu produced eight birdies and two bogeys in his 66.

BUNCHED UP

Gurgaon’s Shivendra Singh Sisodia, former champion Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh, and Panchkula’s Angad Cheema were tied fourth on 67s.

The two local golfers who made promising starts were Deepraj Chetia (tied 13th on 3-under 69) and Dulal Kalowar (tied 37th on level-par 72).

The tournament was inaugurated on Wednesday morning by Kailash Pati, ED & Refinery Head, IOCL (AOD) Digboi Refinery.

The opening included a ceremonial tee-off, the customary release of balloons, and the planting of trees at the Digboi Golf Links.