Chandigarh: Southpaw Adil Bir Singh, playing at his home course, returned an even par 72 to lead the field by two strokes at the end of Day 1 of the Usha IGU Punjab Juniors Golf hampionship 2013, which is underway at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

S. Abhishek Shankar, representing the south zone and who plays his golf at the Hyderabad Golf Club, was lying second, having finished with a card of two over 74 for the day. Karandeep Kochar, also from the same golf club as Adil Bir and who has recently qualified for the Nick Faldo series in China, came in third with a score of three over 75, one stroke behind Abhishek and three behind Adil Bir.

Adil Bir today, sank three birdies on the front nine without dropping a shot, but four bogeys and a birdie on the back nine, meant that a sub-par round eluded him by a whisker.

A total of 33 out of 36 junior golfers in Category A and 26 out of 27 in Category B have finished above the projected cut mark of 91. The tournament is being played over four days and 72 holes, and Day 2 should determine the final lineup for the business end of the tournament. While Adil Bir is the overall leader, S. Abhishek Shankar led the Category A lineup, two strokes ahead of Tutul Ali of the East Zone (four over 76). In Category B, Adil Bir and Karandeep make up the top two.

Other pre-tournament favourites like Feroz Singh Garewal, Tapendra Ghai and Pukhraj Singh Gill, all finished with identical scores of five over 77, to stay in the hunt, five strokes separating them from the tournament leader. It should be an interesting Day 2 of junior golf to look forward to.