Yannik Paul sets the pace at Indian Open

Germany's Yannik Paul overcame his limited preparation to produce a blistering finish and claim the lead after day one of the Hero Indian Open.

Paul’s round started with a bogey and he was level par after eight holes, but he birdied seven of the last 10 to card an opening 65 at DLF Golf and Country Club.

That gave the 28-year-old a one-shot lead over India’s Honey Baisoya, with Finland’s Mikko Korhonen in third place on five under.

Gary Hurley had a day to forget, posting two double-bogeys on the way to an eight-over-par 80 while John Murphy was five over thru 17 when play was suspended due to darkness.

Leaderboard

"I obviously played well today," said Paul, who finished second in the Thailand Classic last week.

"I knew it was a challenging course but I just tried to focus on one shot at a time. I had a great finish, four birdies in the last four, that helps, but tomorrow is a new day so I’ll focus on what I can control and see where I end up.

"It’s my sixth week in a row so I took it pretty easy Monday through Wednesday.

"I just played a nine hole pro-am on Wednesday afternoon and then walked the back nine on Tuesday, just to conserve as much energy as I could because I knew it would be challenging here, mentally as well as with the golf shots."

Paul’s late surge saw him overhaul long-time leader Baisoya, the world number 1,108 carding eight birdies and a double bogey on the 14th in his 66.

Compatriots Shubhankar Sharma and Angad Cheema both shot 68 as the home players enjoyed the return of the event to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Indian Open means a lot for the Indians and we played a lot of tournaments here," Baisoya said. "They’re used to this course and it