Arjun Atwal begins in style

On St. Valentine's Day, defending champion Arjun Atwal renewed his love story with Hero Honda Masters and the DLF Golf & Country Club course when he shot a six-under 65 to lead by one stroke after the opening round of the $-300,000 event on the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour, on Thursday.

Atwal was followed by rookie Michael Christensen of the US at five-under 66.

A three-way tie for the third place included 2001 Mercuries Masters winner Daniel Chopra, Lam Chih Bing of Singapore and Tatsuhiko Takahashi of Japan.

Superstar Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Singh and Gaurav Ghei of India were in tied in sixth place at three-under 68, along with Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand and Craig Kamps of South Africa.

A birdie-birdie kickstart was all Atwal needed to begin his quest. In a bogey-free round, the 29-year-old Indian missed four birdie putts from eight feet range and was rarely in trouble. The longest putt he made was a 20-footer on the seventh, while the rest were from within six feet - ample testimony to the fact that he hit his iron shots extremely well. Atwal finished both his halves in 33 with birdies on the seventh, 13th, 14th and 17th.

"Since I started from the first tee, I knew I would have to do well in the first few holes because of the tough holes during the end of the round. I am pretty happy with way I am playing right now, but there are several things that I need to work up on. I have a new driver in the bag and I was feeling very comfortable with it today," said Atwal, who finished fourth in last week's London Myanmar Open.

"I am pretty happy with the way I have started my title defence. But if I am in contention on the back nine on Sunday, I would be more happy," added the European PGA Tour star.

Christensen, a 24-year-old from Minnesota, got off to a slow start from the 10th tee, but caught fire after making a bogey on the 13th hole from the front bunker. Thereafter, he was unstoppable, making seven birdies in the next nine holes. A lob wedge to four feet on the par-5 14th, was followed by birdies from three and five feet on the 16th and 17th. On the 18th, he sank a 20-footer from the back of the green. After making the turn, he hit his wedges to two and three feet on the first and second holes, before going six-under when he sank a downhill 15 footer on the 431-yard fourth. His second bogey of the day came on the fifth, where he three-putted.

"With two par-5s ahead of me, I thought I would still finish lower than 66. I never thought of such a start as I did not have a great start to the season, and my game was a bit inconsistent. But golf is a strange game. Suddenly, I had made seven birdies in nine holes!! This is a great course and the layout suits my style as I draw the ball a lot. I am now looking forward to building up on this start," said Christensen, who finished 13th in this season's Qualifying School and was placed 51st in the season-opening London Myanmar Open.

Daniel Chopra, enjoying a revival of form lately and sporting a new blonde look, began in solid fashion from the 10th tee, but needed a bogey on the par-5 14th to move into overdrive. Three successive birdies saw him make the turn at two-under, and then added two more on the first and second holes. It was all pars after that for Chopra, who honed his skills in India.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 65 _ Arjun Atwal (Ind); 66 _ Michael Christensen (USA); 67 _ Daniel Chopra (Swe), Tatsuhiko Takahashi (Jpn), Lam Chih Bing (Sin); 68 _ Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Arjun Singh (Ind), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Craig Kamps (RSA), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha); 69 _ Feroz Ali (Ind), Indrajit Bhalotia (Ind), Rick Gibson (Can), James Kingston (RSA), Zai Kipgen (Ind), Edward Loar (USA), Clay Devers (USA), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Harmeet Kahlon (Ind)

OTHER TOP INDIAN SCORES: 70 _ Sanjay Kumar, 71 _ Jyoti Randhawa, Vijay Kumar, Rahul Ganapathy; 72 _ Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia; 73 _ Shiv Prakash, Ali Sher; 74 _ Mohammed Islam, Digvijay Singh, Rafiq Ali, Ashok Kumar, Amit Dube

Earlier report
Indian supremacy under threat at Hero Honda Masters