C Muniyappa storms into first round lead at BILT Open

C Muniyappa of Bengaluru stormed into the lead in round one of the BILT Open 2015 with a breathtaking nine-under-63 at the Classic Golf & Country Club here today.
Delhi's Arjun Singh fired the next best round of six-under-66 to be placed second at the Rs. 1 crore event.
C Muniyappa fired an astonishing 11 birdies against two bogeys on his way to a score of 63 on day one. The former Indian Open champion, fresh from a top-5 finish in Jaipur last week, had an early hiccup after failing to recover from the bunker on the second for a bogey. Muniyappa, however, made up for the early lapse with a superb recovery from the bunker on the next hole where he sank a 20-feet birdie.

Muniyappa was relentless from there on with four more birdie conversions from a range of 15 to 30 feet and a chip-in birdie on the eighth. The reticent 38-year-old currently lying 20th in the Rolex Rankings, also landed it within five feet on four occasions to set up birdies. His only blemish on the back-nine was a missed par putt from three feet on the 13th.
Muniyappa said, "This is an ideal start to the week. It gives me a solid foundation to build on over the next three rounds. My putting was outstanding today and I also created a lot of opportunities for myself by landing it close.

"I didn't have a great start to the season but I've come back well at the start of the second half. I had a birdie-birdie-eagle run on the last three holes last week to finish tied fourth in Jaipur. I shot some low scores there. I feel I've carried the good form into this week as well.
"There are a few things going for me at this stage. Firstly, I'm starting to get comfortable with my new set of clubs. Besides my caddie Gautam, who was on the bag for me during my Indian Open win in 2009, has helped me set realistic targets for myself for each round. Earlier I used to aim for low scores in every round but now there is a change in approach thanks to Gautam's advice.

Arjun Singh's bogey-free 66 placed him second on the opening day. The seasoned Arjun knocked in two 15-footers for birdie and landed it within six feet to create two other birdie opportunities.