It is a treat when Kolkatan Feroz Ali gets going. The `Stunt man' of Indian golf set ablaze the Beldih Golf Course in Jamshedpur with a card of six-under par 66 to lead the field on the opening day of the second edition of the Rs 1.5 million Tata Open, the 10th leg of the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour, being played at the Beldih and Golmuri Club courses, on Thursday.
Playing at the par-70 course, unheralded Roop Singh of Chandigarh and the `Lion of Lucknow' Vijay Kumar both returned a card of five-under par 65 each to share the second position, while the hard-working pro from KGA Bangalore C Muniyappa submitted a card of four-under 66 to be in the fourth position overall.
Sanjay Kumar's three-under 69 was the next best card at the par-72.
Feroz Ali had an ominous beginning when he missed a three feet par-putt on the par-3 opening hole. That was his only mistake of the day as he went about collecting birdies on his way to the top. With the greens being small, it needed accurate approach shots. The former Indian Open champion's good hitting complemented by his putting made his round successful.
Making the turn at one-under after birdies on the third and eighth, the Air Sahara-sponsored pro added five more birdies on his inward journey. A sandy-birdie on the 12th was the pick of the lot while his other birdies came on the 10th, 13th, 15th and 16th.
"It is after a long time that I have recorded a low score. I had lost touch with my putting but I am happy to regain my form," said Feroz, who had 24 putts for the day.
Roop Singh, after a solitary birdie on his front nine, had a superb return journey, firing four birdies on alternate holes starting from the 10th to submit a bogey-free card. The courses did play a little long due to a heavy drizzle on Tuesday.
"It was a good round and I am happy with my putting," said Roop Singh, who made just 21 putts today. "The score has given me the confidence for my second round since Beldih is a slightly longer course," he added.
Vijay Kumar, meanwhile, dropped two shots in the last four holes to return the same score as Roop. Beginning with two consecutive birdies on the opening holes, the 2002 Indian Open champion Vijay Kumar made two more birdies on the fifth and seventh to make the turn at four-under. On the return journey, the first hole of the nine-hole Golmuri course plays par-5 while it is par-4 on the front nine. Vijay birdied both the times. With consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th, Vijay was seven-under but coming in the final stretch he made bogeys on the 15th and the finishing hole.
"It was a good round. I guess I could have avoided those bogeys," said Vijay.
Meanwhile, Muniyappa warmed up pretty late in the round. After a bogey on the second hole, the 24-year-old was one-over after his front nine. He began his birdie-spree going under par on the 10th and 12th. A hat-trick of birdies beginning from the 15th put Muniyappa back in contention. A 16-footer on the 17th was his pick of five birdies.
"I am playing well but could not convert it into better scores. My back nine saved the day for me," said the genial pro who hit eight greens in regulation his inward journey.
Saggu leads amateurs:.JS Saggu, who played at the Golmuri Club, scored five-over 70 to lead the amateur field. Navtez, playing at the Beldih course, was second with a total of six-over 78.
Scores (after 18 holes):
At BELDIH, par 72: 66_Feroz Ali; 69_Sanjay Kumar; 71_Gurkhi Shergill, Indrajit Bhalotia, Ranjit Singh, Toran Shahi; 72_Ajay Gupta, Ali Sher, Basad Ali, Rafiq Ali, Shamim Khan.
At GOLMURI, par 70: 65_Roop Singh, Vijay Kumar; 66_C Muniyappa; 67_Amit Dube, Mukesh Kumar, Vikramjit Singh; 68_SSP Chowrasia; 69_Gaurav Ghei, Pradeep Kumar, Shiv Prakash.