Chikka, Kumar, Chopra in joint lead at BILT Open

S Chikkarangappa, Kapil Kumar, Vikrant Chopra, and Sri Lankan Anura Rohana hogged the limelight in round one of the Rs. 1 crore BILT Open Golf, where they led the field with matching scores of five-under-67.
Deepinder Singh Kullar and Md Zamal Hossain Mollah of Bangladesh were one shot off the lead in tied fifth place.
Chikkarangappa, currently second in the Rolex Rankings and the Super Series Points Table, shot down five birdies on Tuesday for a flying start at the BILT Open 2014.
Chikka, still recovering from fever, collected four birdies on the trot from the seventh to the 10th as he sank three 10-footers. The 21-year-old came up with a near-perfect chip on the 14th to pick up another stroke.

"My target at the Delhi Golf Club is to hit all 14 fairways. I managed 13 today and that helped me score well. I've started playing much better at the Delhi Golf Club since I turned professional. In my junior and amateur days I never made the cut at DGC," said Chikkarangappa, a three-time winner on the PGTI.
Kumar came back well after a bogey on the 10th as he picked up four birdies and an eagle on the 18th. His eagle came as a result of a magnificent approach shot from 230 yards that stopped six feet from the flag. The 22-year-old also landed his tee shot within a foot for birdie on the 12th. Kapil's father Gast Ram followed him for about four holes on day one. Kapil and Gast Ram are the only father-son duo currently playing on the PGTI.

Chopra turned in six birdies against a lone bogey to be the joint leader. He made a 25-feet putt on the seventh and a 15-footer on the 18th.

Anura Rohana was also one of the four joint leaders on day one. Rohana ended the day with seven birdies and two bogeys. His approach shot on the 11th and tee shot on the 12th led to tap-in birdies.
Hossain Mollah produced an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys to be tied fifth at four-under-68. Deepinder Singh Kullar had five birdies and a bogey on his card and thus joined Mollah in joint fifth.

Defending champion Rashid Khan shot a one-under-71 at his home course to be tied 18th.
Khalin Joshi of Bangalore fired a hole-in-one on the 12th courtesy a spectacular six-iron shot. Joshi also had two birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey in his round of even-par-72. He occupied tied 26th position.