DIGBOI, Nov 19 � Shankar Das of Kolkata fired a blistering seven-under-65 in round one of the Indian Oil Servo Masters Golf to open up a three-shot lead at the top at the Digboi Golf Links on the opening day today .
Abhinav Lohan of the DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, was in second place at four-under-68.
Shankar Das, a two-time winner at Digboi in 2010 and 2011, was quick off the blocks as he struck a purple patch with five straight birdies from the 11th through the 15th. The 30-year-old, currently second on the Rolex Rankings, set up eagle opportunities on the 12th and 14th thanks to two brilliant drives, one of which found the green. Shankar however, narrowly missed eagles on both occasions and had to settle for birdies.
The six players who took a share of third place at three-under-69 were Delhi�s Shamim Khan, Kolkata�s Nur Hossain Sardar, Vishal Singh of Jaipur, Lucknow golfer Sanjay Kumar who won at Shillong last week, Bangalore�s C Muniyappa and Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur, the current leader in the Emerging Player of the Year race.
The tournament was inaugurated by S S Bapat, Executive Director, (CC and Branding), IOCL and Barun Barpujari, Executive Director (IC), Assam Oil Division of IOCL.
