Gaganjeet Bhullar was in ominous form from the very outset as he birdied the first three holes (10th, 11th, 12th). He sank a massive 20 feet putt for birdie on his opening hole of the tournament. He kept hitting it close to the pin and that led to further birdies on the 15th and 16th. Bhullar thus made the turn at five under. The professional from Kapurthala then began his second nine by sinking a birdie on the first. His only blip of the day came on the sixth where he three-putted from 20 feet for bogey. Bhullar wrapped up round one on a high, making birdies on the seventh and eighth and a good par save on the closing ninth hole.

The round one leader added, "I feel in the grove after a good finish on the Asian Tour last week and will now try to stick to my routine for the rest of this tournament." R Murthy came up with a fighting 66 on day one thanks to an eagle on the eighth and six birdies. He also dropped two bogeys. The Belgaum-based professional was two-on on the par five eighth and then sank a 10 feet uphill putt for eagle.