Navi Mumbai: India’s Veer Ahlawat, who won the PGTI two weeks ago, continued his consistent form with a score of six-under 65 that gave him a two-shot lead on the first day of the INR 1 crore CIDCO Open 2025 presented by Larsen & Toubro, the first-ever professional event to be played at the Kharghar Valley Golf Course (KVGC) in Navi Mumbai.
As the first-ever round of the competition is being held in the KVGC today, Gurugram-based player Veer’s 65-meter dash is considered a course record.
Italian Michele Ortolani and American Koichiro Sato shot four-under 67 on the par-71 course to tie for second place.
There were two other foreign players in the top eight: Uganda’s Joshua Seale and Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja finished fourth with a score of 68, along with the Indian trio Manoj S, Dhruv Sheoran and Manu Gandas.
Dipankar Kaushal (69) and Mani Ram (75) made it 10th with a hole-in-oneTh and a draw 69Th respectively. Mani Ram, who scored the first hole-in-one at the new venue, had his moment of glory on the 17thTh hole, while Dipankar achieved the feat on the third hole.
Veer Ahlawat, a 10Th He started Tuesday as a tee shot and got his first swing with a three-foot birdie on the 12thTh and a 20-foot Eagle conversion on the 14thTh. The 29-year-old Veer, who took full advantage of his late riser skills on a course suitable for long hitters, continued to make progress with birdie tap-ins on the first and second holes. Ahlawat hit a 15-footer on the fourth day for his final birdie of the day.
Ahlawat said: “I’ve been feeling good since I returned to play at the PGTI in October. I’ve had good results, including a win. This course suits my game as I feel three of the four par-5 holes are reachable in two shots, while a couple of par-4 holes are a passable stretch for me. However, as it was colder at last week’s event in Delhi, one has to adapt quickly to the warmer conditions here. I enjoyed my first round of competition here at KVGC I think it’s a great layout.”
