Salzburg (Austria), May 30 (PTI) Indian golfer Veer Ahlawat returned an impressive three-67 in the opening round to be tied eighth but Shubhankar Sharma stumbled to a three-over 73 to be placed tied 110th after the opening round of the Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand here.

Ahlawat trailed the leader, Marcel Schneider of Germany, by four shots after the first round on Thursday.

Ahlawat, who earned his DP World Tour card by topping the Indian PGTI Tour, has had a mixed season, making five cuts and missing as many in 10 starts this season.

His best has been tied 17th at his home event, the Hero Indian Open.

On the front nine Ahlawat started with three consecutive birdies before he had the first of his two bogeys for the day on the seventh hole. He was able to quickly gain back the shot on the ninth hole.

On the back nine Ahlawat dropped a shot on the 16th before closing the back nine with a birdie on the 18th.

Sharma had a difficult first round as he struggled all day. Having begun on the front nine he dropped shots on the sixth and seventh holes. On the back nine, he dropped shots on the 14th and 15th holes as well.

The birdie on the 18th hole was his only saving grace in an otherwise difficult round. Sharma has a lot of ground to make up if he is to make the cut. PTI Cor PM PM PM

Category: Breaking News

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