Pune, Oct. 29 -- Mohd Azhar of Hyderabad shot a top-notch seven-under 64 on day one to emerge the leader by one shot at The Poona Club Open being played at the Poona Club Golf Course in Pune.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Yuvraj Sandhu fired a six-under 65 to be placed second. Gurugram's Veer Ahlawat (66), the 2024 PGTI Ranking champion, was a further shot behind in third position.

The quintet of Akshay Damale, Aaron Rockey, Aditya Bhandarkar, Adityaa Garg and amateur Arkin Patel were the highest-placed among the Pune-based players as they returned scores of 71 to occupy tied 29th place.

Mohd Azhar, who has been in decent form in recent times with four top-10s to his name in his last six starts, began his week with a birdie-bogey on the f...