India’s Pukhraj Singh Gill showed he was settling in to his rookie year on the Asian Development Tour, posting a seven under par 64 to claim an early lead at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura.

Singh Gill posted seven birdies with no dropped shots on the West course at the Gunung Geulis Country Club in Bogor, securing a one shot advantage going into the second day of the Pro-Am tournament.

He leads Sweden’s Filip Lundell, Paul San of Malaysia and Thailand’s Kammalas Namuangruk who share second place on six under par in the US$125,000 ADT event.

“It’s as close as it gets to a flawless round,” said Singh Gill after his round. “Seven birdies, no blemishes on the card. It was quite an intimidating track in the practice round so I am quite happy that I played the way I have today.”

Kammalas Namuangruk of Thailand pictured in action at the the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura in Bogor, Indonesia. The US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at the Gunung Geulis Country Club from September 11-13, 2024.

Round one was completed as scheduled, despite the threat of rain earlier in the week. With the forecast projecting bad weather, the event organisers switched to a shotgun start for the first two rounds of the 54 hole event.

“We don’t play shotguns too often now so it was nice for a change,” Singh Gill added. “It’s good that we’ve been able to complete the round with the weather and with all the rain. It’s kind of fun, and it’s nice playing with the Ams for a change.”

In fifth place, on five under par, China’s Cao Senshou sits alongside Rory Hie, the leading Indonesian player after the first round, Witchayapat Sinsrang of Thailand, and Korea’s Lion Park, who made a personal record with his first ever albatross.

Playing the par five eighth hole on the East course, he holed out from some distance, only realising when he checked the hole after being unable to find his ball.

“I hit driver over the cart path,” he explained after his round. “Not a really good shot, but not bad. I go to the ball, it was in the rough, 156 metres left to the pin and I hit the seven iron.

Paul San of Malaysia pictured in action at the the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura in Bogor, Indonesia. The US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at the Gunung Geulis Country Club from September 11-13, 2024.

“When I got to the green, the fore caddie didn’t see the ball, but there was a pitchmark on the green. I thought it was over the green but there’s no ball, so I checked the hole,” he laughed.

“The first albatross of my life,” he added.

In ninth place, another true international grouping lies just three shots off the lead, including Thailand’s Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij, Chanat Sakulpolphaisan, Sarut Vongchaisit and Jaturobn Duangphaichoom.

They are joined by Chi Quan Truong of Vietnam, Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung, Shinich Mizun of Japan, Malaysia’s Nasrullah Zulkifli and Saptak Talwar of India.

With more than 20 countries represented in today’s field, the ADT demonstrates the attraction it continues to provide for the best up and coming golfers looking to play in Asia, as demonstrated by debutant Singh Gill.

Filip Lundell of Sweden pictured in action at the the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura in Bogor, Indonesia. The US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at the Gunung Geulis Country Club from September 11-13, 2024.

“It’s been pretty good,” he said when asked how he was finding life on the ADT. “A lot of learning, some fun tracks, and a nice international field to compete with.

“I’m very excited to keep learning and I’ve had some good fun so far,” he added.

With weather projections improving, the players and their amateur partners will switch courses for tomorrow, still with a shotgun start. The final round will be played on the West course on Friday following a cut currently projected at the top 50 and ties.

Main picture: Pukhraj Singh Gill of India pictured in action at the the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura in Bogor, Indonesia. The US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at the Gunung Geulis Country Club from September 11-13, 2024.