Freddy Schott carded a six-under-par 66 to lead by one from defending champion Eugenio Chacarra after the first round of the 2026 Hero Indian Open.
The German, winner of last month's Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship, made a superb start at DLF G&CC with six birdies in his first 12 holes to overhaul the early target set by Dan Bradbury.
Bogeys at the 14th and 17th brought him back to the pack, particularly as Chacarra finished strongly, but on both occasions he responded with a birdie at the next to get back to six under.
Chacarra was one over par through five holes after bogeys at the second and the fifth, but six birdies the rest of the way saw him to a 67.
A pinpoint approach to the seventh proved the kick-start his round needed, setting up the first of two successive gains to ensure he was under par at the turn.
Another pair at the tenth and 11th, the later after a beautifully-judged pitch, and a fifth in seven holes at the 13th took him level with Bradbury and as Schott battled with the difficult closing stretch, Chacarra birdied the 18th.
Schott responded in kind, though, and said: “Very, very pleased, really solid out there today… yeah, it was pretty much a flawless round of golf. Two drops but at least those were the most difficult holes so it’s alright.
“I guess it might be the hardest course this year. Your game has to be so good overall, there’s not a thing which can leak.
“You’ve got to be very good off the tee to actually give yourself some chances, you’ve got to be good into the greens, hit the right areas, and make your putts so it’s a really tough, testing golf course.
“We said we’re going to be conservative off the tee most of the time, and then be aggressive into the greens when we’ve got a wedge in hand. Wedging was good today, putting was good, so that led to that score.
“It was obviously a massive confidence-booster for the year, winning in Bahrain, but I just want to keep on going and see where that leads me and hopefully we can have a nice week out here.”
Chacarra said: “Yeah, good round after not one of the best starts. I hit a great shot on the first and missed a short one and another great shot on the second and ended up with a bogey.
“I think we did a tremendous job staying patient, playing the shot that’s required on this course. It’s a tricky course, it’s obviously been great to me but it’s just a hard course all round. I think it just suits my game because you need every shot and to move the ball both ways pretty well, and I tend to do that."
Regarding the impact of last year's win on his career, he said: “It’s a week that changed my life, I’m here because of last (year), so obviously thankful to Hero for giving me the opportunity back in the day and it’s just lovely to be here.
“I think it’s a tournament that when I talk to my manager, one day if I’m on the PGA TOUR or another tour, I’ll always love to come back."
Bradbury started on the back nine with three birdies and added another at the first.
Bogeys at the fourth and sixth threatened to stop his momentum but he responded in style by birdieing his last two holes for a 68.
He said: "A really nice way to finish. Played steady all day except one where I hit it in the jungle but managed to escape with the bogey and just kept it in play.
"There are definitely a lot of holes that you need to just sort of get it in play and accept if you are 40 yards further back but in the fairway, that's fine and then hit it on the right spots."
Niklas Nørgaard said his round of 69 was his "best for nine months" as he shared fourth place with Martin Couvra, Calum Hill and Gregorio De Leo on three under, with a further nine players at two under.
