Bhullar tied at 19th after round 1 of Dubai golf meet

Gaganjeet Bhullar ended Day 1 tied 19th along with Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Lahinch in Ireland.

Padraig Harrington, a 15-time European Tour champion, stole the show with (-7) under par and a score of 63. The other Ind, Shubhankar Sharma and S.S.P Chawrasia, ended Round 1 at T-114.

Bhullar once again proved his mettle as he finished the day tied at 19th with a score of 67 (-3) under par, with 4 birdies on the 9th, 12th, 13th and 17th, but a bogey on the 11th hole hampered his chances to end the day at a better position.

Sharma and Chawrasia struggled and could not find their form which resulted in a 114th place finish after Round 1. Sharma and Chawrasia carded identical scores of 72 (+2) over par.

Backed by a large and vociferous home crowd, Irishman Harrington led the day carding a score of 63 (-7) under par, which is his lowest round ever at his home Open and one shot ahead of South Africa's Zander Lombard. Lombard ended at T-2 as he birdied four of his last five holes.

A score of 64 (-6) under par ensured that he was placed ahead of the Rolex Series winner Thorbjorn Olesen, Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Australia's Wade Ormsby, English trio of Chris Paisley, Eddie Pepperell and Lee Slattery, and South Korean Hyowon Park.

( With inputs from IANS )