Uttam Mundy in joint lead

Uttam Singh Mundy, enjoying a rich vein of form ever since winning the Surya Nepal Masters in Kathmandu last month, moved in contention for a second title on foreign soil this season when he shared the lead at the end of the opening day of the Rs 1.6 million Dutch-Bangla Bank Open golf tournament, the third 'major' on the Hero Honda Golf Tour, which began at the challenging par-72 Kurmitola Golf Club course in Dhaka on Wednesday.

It was a red-letter day for Bangladesh golf as local pro Lutfor Rahman beat several established names on the Indian Tour and joined Mundy on top of the leaderboard with a score of four-under 68. A truly cosmopolitan leaderboard saw Malaysian S Murthy following the leaders at three-under 69, along with Bangaldesh's Mohammed Jibon Ali and Indian pros Digvijay Singh and Pappan.

It was a tribute to the beautiful playing conditions at the Kurmitola course that as many as 32 pars or better scores were recorded during the day.

Luftor, who belongs to the host club, birdied two consecutive holes on the 13th and 14th after teeing off from the tenth tee. However, the 30-year-old landed in trouble on the par-4 16th. Duffing his chip shot, Lutfor two-putted for a bogey. After a birdie on the 17th, he three-putted for yet another bogie on the last hole of his forward journey.

Playing his first major professional tournament, Lutfor had a superb back nine. A sandy birdie on the fifth was the pick of his three birdies. Landing in the left bunker, the Dhaka-based pro holed a 15-footer.

"I am very happy. This is my best score in any tournament that I have played so far," said the Bangladeshi golfer.

Mundy made a brilliant start with a birdie. However, his bunker play did not match his exceptionally good iron shots as he bogeyed the par-3 fourth and par-4 sixth. Apart from the two errors, the Indian Airlines-sponsored Mundy maintained a clean slate shooting birdies the seventh and 11th. An eagle on the par-5 13th resulted from two crisply-struck shots. Using a driver and a six-iron, the 38-year-old hit the green before holing from 15 feet.

Mundy missed another eagle on the par-5 17th, missing a five-feet putt.

"I am not too happy about my round despite the good score. I could have played better from those two bunkers," said Mundy after the round.

SIDDIQ-UR REHMAN LEADS: Local lad Siddiq-Ur Rahman returned a commendable card of two-under 70 to lead amongst the amateurs.

Top scores (after 18 holes): 68 _ Uttam Singh Mundy, Lutfor Rahman; 69 _ Digvijay Singh, S Murthy, Pappan, Md. Jibon Ali; 70 _ Feroz Ali, Mohammed Ismail, Naman Dawar, Rahul Ganapathy, Shiv Prakash, Zai Kipgen; Amateurs: 70 _ Siddiq-ur Rahman; 72 _ Mohd. Sayyum