By IANS
Dubai : India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa dazzled with rounds of 67 each as they lay tied second, behind World No. 1 Tiger Woods at the end of the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf at the Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club here Thursday.
While Woods was sole leader at seven-under 65, there were 11 players in second place at five-under 67.
Jeev shot a bogey free back nine that was studded with four birdies as he carded a superb five-under 67 to kick-start his challenge in Dubai. His only blemish of the day was a double bogey on sixth and he had seven birdies.
Compatriot Randhawa hoping to improve on his seventh place in Qatar last week, was in sizzling form with six birdies in first 12 holes but then dropped a bogey on 13th before rounding off the day with five pars for a 67 that placed him a tie for second.
Also bringing in a very good card of 68 was Shiv Kapur, who was tied 13th with Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia among others. Kapur recovered from a bogey start to shoot six birdies and two bogeys.
It was a great start for the Indians as Randhawa was five-under through 17 holes after being six-under at one stage after 12 holes. He had, dropped a bogey on 13th and was five-under through 17 holes with one more to play.
Jeev, who last week got an invitation to play his second Augusta Masters was happy with his round despite that ugly double bogey on the sixth. “I putted a few good ones and am finally to get a good score on the card after last two weeks,” said Jeev. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi and just made in Qatar, where he finished 56th.
“I was rusty in Abu Dhabi and carried fever in Qatar and was also not in rhythm. Today felt good,” added Jeev, who had a good gallery following him.
Jeev had birides on the first and fifth, before the double bogey on sixth. He got another birdie on ninth to turn in one-under. On the back nine, he birdied the 10th, 13th, 14th and 18th to total five-under.
“I hit the ball well and putted well, too. I had 13 greens in regulation and then managed par on four of the five I missed, so it was a good day,” said Jeev, who needed 25 putts for the round.
Kapur, who was 17th midway through in Qatar before slipping down to 47th said, “It was pretty good. The scoring conditions were good and the course is there to be had (for scoring). I started off pretty badly today, duffed a chip on the first (tenth hole of the course) and bogeyed the very next. At that point one cannot be very positive. I just had to hang in there and hole some putts. I didn’t hit too many bad shots coming in.”
Talking of his current form, he added, “I was in a good position last week and then played badly on Saturday (in Qatar) and I didn’t play well in Abu Dhabi. So one can lose patience. But I am glad I didn’t do that. I just told myself that the conditions were not too bad and the greens were rolling well. So I just wanted to give myself some opportunities and my putter co-operated.”
Woods shot an awesome bogey free 65 to carry on from eight-shot win at the Buick Invitational last week.
Martin Kaymer may well have been just one behind Woods, but for his bogey on the closing hole, the 18th and he was also five-under 67 and tied for second.
Woods started ominously with a superb chip and rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on 10th, his first hole of the day. And after the round, he sounded a warning, saying: “I am definitely playing better than last week. I have had two good days of practice here and started to hit the ball a lot better. I made a lot of putts last week. I didn’t particularly drive it very well and my iron game was just alright but on those bumpy greens (at Torrey Pines) for some reason I made a bunch of putts.”
Woods, winner here in 2006, added: “I definitely missed a few (putts) today. I had a couple of good opportunities and just kind of ran them over the edge. But overall I couldn’t ask for a better start. I hit the ball a lot more clean today and shaped the ball better.”
Apart from the two Indians, the other nine in tie for second at 67 were Simon Dyson, Kaymer, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, Swede Pelle Edberg, Frenchman Thomas Levet, Scott Hend, Graeme McDowell, Gary Murphy and Andrew McLardy.
The 44-year-old Jimenez used a six-iron to record a hole-in-one at the 186-yard seventh and brought in a round of 67.
Woods opened with a two-under 34 over his first nine holes and made five more on the second nine, including a 20-footer on first hole. He had seven birdies and no bogeys.