Dubai, Nov 3 (PTI) Shubham Jaglan, who reached here late and missed the practice round, was the best Indian after the first day of the 12th Asia Pacific Amateur Championship on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old Haryana player, who has been in the spotlight in India since the age of six, is now on a golf scholarship at the University of South Florida in the USA.

Also Read | A Fiery Beginning from the Indian Openers in the Powerplay They Are … – Latest Tweet by T20 World Cup 2021.

Jaglan, coached by Nonita Lall Qureshi, was 2-under and had a 20-footer for a birdie on the 18th to get into the Top-10.

However, the first putt went five feet past the hole and he missed the return putt for a three-putt bogey. He finished with 1-under 70 and was Tied-24th.

Also Read | NZ vs SCO Stat Highlights T20 World Cup 2021: New Zealand Clinch 16-Run Win To Keep Semifinal Hopes Alive.

There was a traffic jam at the top of the leaderboard as seven players, including World No. 1 amateur Keita Nakajima and 2-time AAC champion Yuxin Lin, were all at 4-under 67.

Hong Kong's Alexander Yang (67) had two eagles and two closing birdies against two bogeys, and the others in the lead bunch were two Koreans, Sam Choi and Cho Wooyoung, Kiwi Jimmy Zheng and Australian Lukas Michel.

Four others shot 3-under and 12 players were 2-under at T-12.

The 16-year-old Milind Soni, the youngest in the squad and who was also unwell Tuesday night, played superbly for an even par 71 to be at T-34.

India No. 1 Rohan Dhole Patil, playing with two of the world's best amateurs in Nakajima and Yuxin, handled himself well to pull himself out of a deep hole and finish 1-over 72 to be T-41.

Patil recovered from a nightmarish four-hole bogey stretch two holes before the turn and ending two after at the Dubai Creek.

Jaglan admitted to some initial nervousness and said, “Since I had not played a practice round and had a hit only on the 10th yesterday. I did not know what lines to hit, but that meant I was totally engaged and focused. I like the set up, it is pretty similar to what I am used to and my game is good.”

Among others, Akshay Neranjan and Arkesh Bhatia, an Indian playing on a UAE nomination, shot 3-over 74 each and were T-60th.

Aryan Roopa Anand and the Dubai-based Arjun Gupta carded 4-over 75 each and were T-65th. The cut will be applied after the second day and the Top-50 and ties.

Another Indian to finish the round with a double was Aryan Roopa Anand, the 2019 All India Amateur champion. He had a bitter-sweet finish on the tough closing segment.

Five-over after 10, Aryan repaired some of the damage with birdies on 11th, 16th and 17th but went into the water on 18th and finished with a double bogey.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)