Greater Noida, 7 October 2026: Shaurya Bhattacharya shot a six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead after the first round of the Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old, a three-time winner on the DP World PGTI, made seven birdies against a single bogey on the par-four eighth. Bhattacharya, who is 14th in the Race to DP World India Championship, was joint runner-up at the DP World Players Championship in February and at the Kolar Open in August.
Chandigarh’s Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time DP World Tour winner, is second on four-under 68. He eagled the par-five 12th and added three birdies against one bogey. Sharma won the Boulders Classic on the DP World PGTI in April, his first title in eight years.
Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain, Gurugram’s Dhruv Sheoran and Bengaluru’s Manoj S share third place on two-under 70. Hossain had three birdies and a bogey, Sheoran six birdies and four bogeys, and Manoj five birdies and three bogeys.
Saptak Talwar, who leads the Race to DP World India Championship, opened with a three-over 75 and is tied 36th.
A long day under floodlights
The tournament is played in a pro-am format, with amateurs competing alongside the professionals over four rounds. The number of groups made for a long day, and part of the round was played under floodlights.
“I got off to a strong start with birdies on the first two holes, which helped me settle into the round. From there, I continued finding greens and stayed patient. The lone bogey was disappointing, but I holed some important putts,” said Bhattacharya.
“The putt on the last felt like a bonus. I knew it would be a long day, so the key was to remain calm, keep my thoughts together and focus on one shot at a time.”
On the format, he added: “The format is quite interesting because we are playing alongside amateurs, and the number of groups makes it a long day. Playing under floodlights also requires some adjustment, but I competed in an event here in similar conditions a few weeks ago, so that experience helped me adapt quickly.”
Bhattacharya and amateur Dr Hamidi also topped the pro-am section with 44 Stableford points, winning on countback.
The INR 2 crore event, the fourth edition of the Kapil Dev Invitational and its first as the Tour Championship, runs until 10 October. Read our preview of the Tour Championship.
