Abu Dhabi, UAE, April 27: Om Prakash Chouhan playing a European Challenge Tour event in foreign soil for the first time picked a birdie on the very last hole to card an even par 71 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Challenge.
Winner of the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge last month on European Challenge Tour, Chouhan is slated to back-to-back events in Abu Dhabi as he seeks to consolidate his position on the Order of Merit, from where the top 20 will go on to earn a card into the DP World Tour. Chouhan is currently ninth in the standings.
Chouhan had two birdies against bogeys and was lying tied 61st which was just inside the cutline. Starting from the first he bogeyed the sixth, but made amends on the eighth. He again dropped a shot on 10th but finished the round with a birdie on Par-5 18th.
England’s Tom Lewis posted an eight under par round of 64 to take a one shot lead after the opening day. Lewis birdied two of his final three holes to take the outright lead, one ahead of Dubai resident Joshua Grenville-Wood and Frenchman Julien Sale, who both carded seven under par rounds of 65.
Spaniard Ivan Cantero Gutierrez posted a six under par round of 66 to move into fourth place on six under par.
The Road to Mallorca Order of Merit Number One Ugo Coussaud continued his strong start to the season as he posted a five under par round of 67 to move into a share of fifth place alongside Swedish duo Joel Sjoholm and Niklas Lemke, Italian Andrea Pavan and South African Brandon Stone.
The back-to-back events in Abu Dhabi have come about following a long-term partnership between the European Tour group and the Emirates Golf Federation.
