Munich, Jun 23 (PTI) Indian golfer Manu Gandas fired one of his best rounds of his rookie season as he shot a 3-under 69 despite two late bogeys to be 20th after the first day of the BMW International Open.

Shubhankar Sharma, however, had a disappointing start with 3-over 75 and was T-126 and in danger of missing the cut as play ended early due to extreme weather conditions.

Edoardo Molinari, Adrien Saddier and Rikuya Hoshino shared the lead after posting rounds of 66 on a red-hot day.

Frenchman Saddier and Japan’s Hoshino both finished with a trio of birdies to join Ryder Cup Vice Captain Molinari on six under par, one stroke clear of six players sharing fourth place on five-under as play was brought to a premature end.

Gandas, who is playing on the DP World Tour after earning a card because of a strategic alliance between DPWT and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), had mixed results.

He began on the back nine and was in cracking form with five birdies on the stretch. He birdied three times in a row from 11th to 13th and then added two more on 16th and 17th.

On the second nine, the front side of the course, he bogeyed the first but got back to 5-under with a birdie on fourth. Back-to-back bogeys on seventh and eighth meant he was down to 3-under.

Molinari mixed two bogeys with eight birdies to set the early pace at a venue where he finished in a tie for third four years ago, while his co-leaders recorded just one blemish on an otherwise clean scorecard.

The German charge was led on day one by Marc Hammer, Max Kieffer and Thomas Rosenmueller, who all posted five under par rounds of 67 to join Frenchmen Romain Langasque and Matthieu Pavon in a tie for fourth, alongside Daan Huizing, of the Netherlands, who will be required to finish his final hole early on day two.

Source: PTI News