Panchkula: Mukesh Kumar of Mhow fired a six-under 66 to take the first round lead at the Haryana Open 2011 presented by Vatika, HUDA & Panchkula Golf Club (PGC). Abhishek Jha of Bangalore, Patna’s Md Islam and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera posted the next best score of 68 to be tied for second.

Mukesh Kumar began the day with a bogey on the first having missed a five feet putt. He then rallied with birdies on the third, sixth and eighth thanks to some quality chip-putts. One of the highlights of his round was driving the green on the par-4 11th that helped him set up his fourth birdie of the day.

The 46-year-old Mukesh gathered further momentum with successive birdies on the 14th and 15th. He chipped it within a foot on the 15th. The veteran picked up his last birdie of the round on the 17th to end the day on a high.  

“I chipped and putted really well today. I was trying to place the ball rather than playing aggressively but my putting helped me in posting a low score. This is my lowest score on this course and I’ll be looking to make the most of it as this is one of the few venues in India where I haven’t won a tournament,” said Mukesh, who is currently second on the Rolex Rankings for 2011.

Abhishek Jha, who won the Aircel Emerging Player of the Year title during the 2010 Aircel PGTI season, made five birdies against a bogey in his opening round effort of 68. He was joined by Md Islam and Mithun Perera, both of whom shot six birdies and two bogeys, in tied second place.

Chandigarh’s Harmeet Kahlon and Kapurthala-based amateur Ashbeer Saini share fifth place along with Md Zamal Hossain Mollah, Deepinder Singh Kullar and Md Nawab at three under 69.

Rashid Khan of Delhi, who shot a one under to be tied 15th after round one, fired a hole-in-one on the 17th on Wednesday. Rashid hit his eight-iron tee shot to perfection on the 17th as the ball bounced four feet short before rolling in smoothly.