Aadil, Aman fire 67 to grab tied 5th spot at Classic

Indian duo of Aadil Bedi and Aman Raj fired identical cards of five-under-67 to be placed tied fifth after the opening round of the Classic Golf & Country Club International Championship here on Thursday.

Playing in their rookie season on the Asian Tour, Eighteen-year-old Aadil and 24-year-old Aman were just three shots behind the leader Rory Hie of Indonesia after day 1.

The other four Indians in the top-10 were Rashid Khan, Ranjit Singh, Abhijit Chadha and Himmat Rai, all placed tied eighth with matching scores of 68.

Aadil started off well with a 25-feet birdie conversion on the second followed by another birdie on the third. Bedi then narrowly missed an eagle from eight feet on the ninth but managed to salvage a birdie there.

Aadil had a setback when he bogeyed the 11th after finding the bunker but he roared back with three more birdies on the 14th, 16th and 18th where he drained a couple of putts from a range of six to seven feet.

Bedi said, "I didn't have any expectations when I started. It's my fifth week in a row playing a tournament so I just tried to play my own game. I am trying to find my groove, stay in the game and follow my processes.

"I have been playing this course for over 6-7 years now. I grew up playing here and have played a lot of junior and amateur golf here. So, I know the course and what challenges it presents.

"The season has been good so far. I am developing my game and have been practicing hard. It is just about time when I find the right scores.

"I played the Monday qualifiers of the Korn Ferry Tour in the United States, finished 8th and missed just by 2 positions. I gained a lot of experience there."
"I just feel my game is getting better with every passing week thanks to the experience I'm gaining by playing in Asia. I need to stick to my routine and focus on finishing the week with good scores."