Gurgaon, October 09: If following Gaganjeet Bhullar in the morning was a futile exercise considering his one-over round, the afternoon attempt was more fruitful as C Muniyappa provided cheer with a 6-under 66.
The home charge, however, was still not good enough to wrest the lead from Adam Blyth on the opening day of the $1.25m Hero Honda Indian Open.
Having knocked on the door in last year’s edition, the Australian has been creating more opportunities on the Asian Tour front and has certainly set up another with a blistering start of a bogey-free 8-under 64. But looking over his shoulders, he can spot South Korean Lee Sung just one stroke behind him. Born deaf, Lee has experience from all around the globe, and even managed to impress Ernie Els with his abilities. And that goes for everyone else.
Sharing third place with Muniyappa is Australia’s Jason King while Daniel Chopra, after proudly announcing that this was his national Open, staked his claim with a 5-under, and is now currently tied fifth.
A stroke behind was the Indian trio of Digvijay Singh, Harinder Gupta and Arjun Singh, ensuring that there was enough fuel in the Indian tank.
Muniyappa admitted that he would have been a bundle of nerves if he hadn’t brushed up his confidence on the Asian Tour this year. “I had a habit of losing my way in big tournaments but now that I’ve been playing at that level, my mental strength has certainly improved,” said the Bangalorean, who has notched up two Top 20s on the Tour this season, in addition to breaking the course record at the Brunei Open.
The 32-year-old found the water on the 9th but managed to escape with a bogey. One-under coming on to the par-4 15th, he conjured an eagle with a chip-in from 25 yards before wrapping up the proceedings with three more birdies.
Digvijay, meanwhile, had withdrawal thoughts after suffering from a wrist injury in Japan but he showed no signs of discomfort, and if not for consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th, would have been sharing the limelight with Muniyappa.
Only one of the star attractions lived up to the expectations. Chopra, a two-time winner on the USPGA Tour, had to replace his regular caddie, Scott Sajtinac, midway through his round because of a sudden attack of Delhi belly but he felt no after-effects.
Arjun Atwal closed with a 75 while 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand finished with a 76, and they will have to turn the tide if they fancy staying for the weekend.
Leading first round scores: (Indian unless stated): 64 A Blyth (Aus), 65 Lee Sung (Kor), 66 C. Muniyappa, J King (Aus), 67 U Park (Aus), D Chopra (Swe), Keith Horne (RSA), 68 Digvijay Singh, Harinder Gupta, Arjun Singh, K Tanin (Tha), 69 Raju Ali, R Ganapathy, A Tiwana, P Petchkasem (Tha), P Muenlek (Tha), A Lascuna (PHI), M Both (Aus), S Hend (Aus).
—Agencies