Kolkata, February 17 – Shaurya Bhattacharya, a three-time winner on the PGTI Tour, set the pace in the first round of the INR 1.5 crore PGTI Players Championship 2026, being held at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.
The 23-year-old Bhattacharya, fresh off his top-10 finish in Asia last week and playing his first event of the 2026 DP World PGTI season, soared to the top of the leaderboard with two eagles during his first round score of six-under 64 on the Par-70 course.
Shaurya Sharma, based in Delhi, who is playing his second season as a professional, scored a 65 to be tied second with Manish Thakran, who won the PGTI NexGen last year. Starting from the 10th hole, Bhattacharya had a strong start in the first five holes, where he made two birdies and an eagle on the 13th, the latter resulting from a chip-in.
Bhattacharya's bogey on the 16th did not affect his round as he added another eagle on the fourth, followed by a birdie on the seventh. Bhattacharya holed his approach shot from 110 yards for an eagle-two on the fourth.
Bhattacharya, who finished third in the DP World PGTI Ranking last season, said, "I'm happy that I've been very consistent and I'm making most fairways and greens. My driving has stood out, and my misses are also getting narrower. I've drawn a lot of positives from my performances last year. The fact that I played well in Malaysia last week added to my confidence. It's great to start the year with a top-10 finish."
Shaurya Sharma, who had a top-15 finish at the PGTI Qualifying School in January, scored six birdies and a bogey on the first day. His birdies included a chip-in and a conversion from ranges of 15 and 30 feet.
Manish Thakran also scored six birdies and a bogey on Tuesday. He regularly landed his shots within seven feet to pick up birdies. Among the Kolkata golfers, Mohammad Sanju was the highest-placed, scoring a 68 to be tied 15th.
