Indian golfer Khalin holds joint lead at Taifong Open

Indian golfer Khalin Joshi and Casey O'Toole of the US fired matching six-under 66s to share the opening round lead at the Taifong Open here on Thursday.

Khalin and O'Toole continued their fine form as they grabbed a one-shot lead over Rory Hie of Indonesia, David Gleeson of Australia and local stalwart Lin Wen-tang at the $160,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand, who won his first ADT title in April, was a further shot back in sixth place alongside Jordan Sheratt of Australia at the Taifong Golf Club.

The 22-year-old Khalin rode on a hot putter where he holed 23 putts highlighted by three closing birdies.

"My putter has let me down in the last few events but I've been training hard and it is starting to pay off. I was very confident on the greens I think I'll have a good week if the putter and ball striking hold up," the Bengaluru-based golfer said in a release.

Other Indians in the fray, Himmat Rai was joint 32 with an even-par 72 while Feroz Singh Garewal was tied 85th after scoring three-over 75.