Mumbai, Nov 18 (NationPress) Pranavi Urs has made history as the first female golfer to share the lead at any stage of the IGPL Tour. After an impressive round of 6-under 62, she is tied at the top with Karandeep Kochhar following the opening day of the IGPL Invitational in Mumbai.

Playing in her inaugural IGPL event, Pranavi previously clinched victory at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club during the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour. Her remarkable performance at the Par-68 BPGC course included eight birdies and two bogeys.

She shares the leaderboard with her boyfriend, Kochhar, who also finished with a score of 62, wrapping up his round with an eagle-par-eagle finish.

Kochhar's round featured two eagles, three birdies, and a solitary bogey on the fourth hole. As both golfers have been dating for over two years, they will be competing together in the upcoming second round.

Pranavi, who competes on the Ladies European Tour, and Kochhar, who secured an Asian Tour card for the next season, are making waves in the tournament. The day was also fruitful for women golfers, with four of them making it to the top 10. Pranavi leads, while Vani Kapoor is tied for sixth alongside Durga Nittur, and Ridhima Dilawari is tied for ninth. Following the co-leaders is Aman Raj, the IGPL Order of Merit leader, with a score of 4-under 64, placing him in third.

Kartik Singh, despite not clinching a win this season, is tied for fourth with a score of 3-under 65, beginning his round with a birdie and a bogey, followed by six pars, and finishing strong with four birdies against one bogey on the back nine. “It was a good day, but a lot of putts did not fall,” reflected the young golfer.

Pranavi expressed satisfaction with her game, stating, “Overall, my game was good, the hitting was good, and my putting was good. It just makes my life a lot easier, hitting the fairways and the green, because that's key on this golf course. It's not that long for me, but keeping it in the fairway was essential today.”

She achieved three consecutive birdies twice during her round—initially from the fourth to the sixth, followed by back-to-back bogeys, and then again from the 10th to the 12th, culminating in five birdies on the back nine.

On her discussions with Kochhar about golf, she remarked, “We talk up to a point; we don't overdo it. He doesn’t instruct me, and I don’t instruct him. We make our own choices, but if we're confused, we discuss pros and cons together.”

When asked about their upcoming round, she added playfully, “We often talk about our game, but tomorrow, we’ll aim to outdo each other.”

Kochhar, fresh off his first international win in Egypt, shared, “I think I battled through the day. My game wasn't at its peak initially, but I started with a birdie on the first. I made a mistake on the fourth that cost me a shot. I encountered some bad luck with my fifth drive, which was a mud ball. I managed a solid 30-yard up-and-down from there and then birdied on the eighth.”

Discussing his strong finish with two eagles in the last three holes, he explained, “I got fortunate on the 16th; my long putt found the hole. I executed two great shots on the 18th hole, which is a tight par five, but I got my second shot to just 4-5 feet for an eagle putt.”

Aman Raj secured third position with a strong finish of birdie-birdie, stating, “Ending with two birdies for a score of 4-under was satisfying. I saved many nice pars, and overall, it was a good day. After a tiring couple of weeks, I felt well-rested and it showed today.”

Meanwhile, Kartik is tied for fourth with Shaurya Binu (65), while Pukhraj Singh Gill, Vani Kapoor, and Durga Nittur are tied for sixth with scores of 2-under 66 each.

Amateur Ranveer Mitroo (67) is tied for ninth with Ridhima Dilawari, Sachin Baisoya, Saarthak Chhibber, Manav Shah, Shat Mishra, and the legendary SSP Chawrasia, all finishing with 1-under 67 each.