Jeev Milkha Singh, who is on a recovery path from a shoulder injury, seemed headed for a flawless day before a late double bogey blotted the card and he finished with a round of five-under 67 on the first day of The Championship at Laguna National here today.
On a day when lightning and thunder delayed the start by over an hour and by the end 18 players were still to complete their first round, no less than three Indians came in with five-under scores.
While Jeev Milkha and the in-form Anirban Lahiri had completed their rounds, Rahil Gangjee after five birdies still had three holes to complete tomorrow. The trio was tied 16th, four shots behind Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat who put up a class act when he fired a sparkling nine-under-par 63 as the players were allowed preferred lies at the USD $1.5 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Digvijay Singh and SSP Chowrasia fired four-under 68 each to be tied 26th on a low-scoring day, Chiragh Kumar (69) was tied 48th. Things were not as good for Rashid Khan (72), Shiv Kapur (74), Himmat Rai (three-over through 15), and Jyoti Randhawa (77).
Lahiri, who is now ranked at a career-best 67th in the world and leads Asian Tour earnings for this year, was happy to see his putter working. "I got off to a wayward start. I didn't hit the ball very good today but it was nice to have my putter come to my rescue for a change. I am happy with how I am striking the ball. I feel more confident with my game this week (after my win in Indonesia last week) as compared to the last few weeks," said Lahiri, one of Asia's top stars at the EurAsia Cup in March.
