Ajeetesh Sandhu gets off to a good start in Ireland

Ajeetesh Sandhu got off to a solid start at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, shooting a 2-under 68 in the first round.

The 31-year-old Indian golfer made four birdies against two bogeys to claim tied-24th position after the end of day one competition at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

England’s Jordan Spieth took the first-round lead after carding a spectacular 8-under 62 at European Tour’s €969,050 prize money event.

Smith smashed eight birdies in his flawless round to claim the crown position.

Scotland's David Drysdale and Germany's Matthias Schmid shared the second position with 6-under 64.

Masahiro Kawamura of Japan was another shot back at the tied solo fourth position heading into the second round.

The other Indians in the event, Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar, made a quiet start at the European Tour’s tournament.

The 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, Shubhankar, shot an even-par 70 to be placed tied-59th at the leaderboard.

While, Gaganjeet Bhullar, a 20-time professional tour champion, had a disappointing day, shooting 2-over in the first round and finishing outside the top-95.

Both the Indian golfers now needed a solid under par round, especially Bhullar, to make the cut.