Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh produced a spectacular opening round of six-under 66 to be tied for the third place in the 120 million yen-Aiful Cup, which started at the par-72 Twinfields Golf Club in Ishikawa, on Thursday.
The Hero Honda Motors-sponsored Jeev was in superb form as he completed the first half of his journey five-under par, and could have finished the day on top of the leaderboard if not for an unfortunate bogey on the his finishing hole.
Asia's No 1 player, Jyoti Randhawa, the other Indian in fray, struggled to a one-over 73 and was tied for 109th place.
Jeev started with a birdie on the par-5 10th hole and then saved strokes back-to-back on the 12th and 13th holes. Another brace of birdies on the 17th and 18th, saw him make the turn at five-under. On the back nine, yet another brace of birdies on the par-3 second and third took him to seven-under after 12 holes.
After parring the rest of the holes, he arrived on the 425 yard par-4 ninth.
"It was a stupid bogey I made there," said Jeev on phone from Japan. "I miscalculated the distance after hitting a great tee shot. The pin was 120 yards, and I calculated 115. I left the pitching wedge just short of the green and missed my only up-and-down there," added the Chandigarh-based pro.
Jeev's putter was hot and he required only 24 putts to complete the round.
"Not only did I putt well, I was also hitting the ball much better," said the 31-year-old, who became the first Indian to qualify for the Japanese Tour in 2001. He also made five chip-putts for pars wherever he missed the greens.
Randhawa also started the day with a birdie on the opening par-5 hole, but could manage only one more - on the par-5 10th. However, his iron play was not at its best, as was evident from the fact that all three bogeys came on par-3 holes.
Hidehisa Shikata, a rookie on the Japanese Tour this season, started in a whirlwind fashion before two bogeys in his last two holes stopped his juggernaut. Shikata, currently ranked 135th in the Order of Merit with his previous best finish being a tie for 26th place at Yomiyuri Open, started from the 10th tee and reeled in five straight birdies. After parring the next two holes, he made four successive birdies from the 17th onwards to be nine-under after 11 holes. However, he made three bogeys and a solitary birdie in the next seven holes.
Shikata led the field at seven-under 65 along side Koki Idoki. Another Japanese player, Tetsuji Hiratsuka, was tied for the third place at 66 along with Jeev. Five players were tied for the fifth place at five-under 67.