Asian Tour rookie Shiv Kapur of India underlined his growing stature when he carded a seven-under-par 66 for the joint first round lead at the US $300,000 Double A International Open in Rayong, Thailand, on Thursday.
The in-form youngster ended the day atop the leaderboard alongside a surprise name in Scotsman Kenny Walker, who enjoyed a bogey-free outing at the challenging St Andrews Hill (2000) Golf Club, which boasts of a first par six hole on the Asian Tour.
Kapur, who is on a roll with four top-10s in his last five events, did not have the best of starts with a bogey on the second hole. But it did not dampen the spirit of the 23-year-old as he bounced back strongly with birdies on the third, seventh, eighth, ninth, 11th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes, thanks to some solid play.
"Ï started badly but was undeterred as I went on to shoot some nice birdies," said a delighted Kapur, who was eighth in last week's Hero Honda Indian Open.
"I am very pleased as I have always being working my way up in previous events but today I managed to complete the round on top. It is only the first round but I hope to continue with three more solid performance for a good outing," added Kapur.
The talented Indian, the gold medallist in the 2002 Asian Games when he was amateur, could have finished as the sole leader if not for a missed five-foot eagle putt after he crashed a stunning five wood from 247 yards that stopped close to the pin on the par five 18th.
"That would have been nice. I got distracted and should have backed off but never mind, seven under is a good score."
It was a dream run for the 38-year-old Walker. Just two years ago, he was part of the Asian Tour's on-course scoring team after taking a five-year sabbatical from his playing career. From putting up players' names on leaderboards, Walker was beaming from ear to ear seeing his name on the board this morning.
"Honestly, I am quite surprised to be in the joint lead," said Walker. "I applied a very strategic and cautious approach as I knew that it was too risky to cut corners or take short cuts like so many other golfers do on this golf course. You need to think your way round here and it kinds of fits my game," said Walker, who quit Tour life in 1998 but started playing full time again at the end of 2003.
He successfully birdied the monstrous 878 yards par 6 fourth hole and also knocked in birdies on the fifth, sixth, 11th, 13th, 15th and 18th holes.
Local sensation Thongchai Jaidee, last year's Asian Tour number one, was a stroke off the pace in third position. Thongchai is determined to win the Double A International Open on a course where he has won previously.
"I hit my irons really good and hit some close to the pins. I feel good and I hope to keep it going," said Thongchai, who shot eight birdies against two dropped shots. "The course is challenging and I missed three good birdie chances."
Thongchai was amongst the many who bogeyed the highly debated par six fourth hole, measuring a monstrous 878-yards. A wayward five iron second shot ended in the bushes and he took a penalty drop.
In total, 22 players birdied the fourth hole, there were 73 pars, 41 players had bogeys or worse on this unique challenge, the first par six to be played in any major Tours in the world.
The Australian duo of Jason Dawes and Unho Park, Chinese Taipei's Wang Ter-chang and Thailand's amateur golfer Nakarintra Ratanakul were tied fourth when they carded matching 68s.
Veteran Wang, who won the Macau Open in May and qualified recently for the WGC World Cup, was delighted to be in the running as he is sponsored by Double A.
"I hit my irons really good and putted well. Still, I missed about two five foot putts for birdies but it is still a good score.
"Previously, I used to think about hitting driver from off the tee all the time but now, I'm using three wood or a long iron from off the tee if I need to. I think that has helped me play well," said the 43-year-old Wang, whose round was highlighted by a 40-foot birdie on the third and a chip-in birdie on 17.
Current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, who hit a 69, remained within striking reach in eighth place alongside compatriot Thammnoon Srirot, Angelo Que of the Philippines, Kurt Barnes of Australia and Chinese Taipei's Yeh Chang-ting.
Thaworn has been in tremendous form, winning in India last week for his third title of the year. "Today, my feeling was very good, even better than last Sunday. I've got no pressure and I'm playing on home soil," said the Thai, who is chasing his first Asian Tour title in Thailand.
Six players failed to finish their first rounds due to fading light and will return early Friday to complete the remaining holes.
Leading first round scores:
66 - Shiv Kapur (IND), Kenny Walker (SCO)
67 - Thongchai Jaidee (THA)
68 - Jason Dawes (AUS), Nakarintra Ratanakul [A] (THA), Wang Ter-chang (TPE), Unho Park (AUS)
69 - Kurt Barnes (AUS), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Yeh Chang-ting (TPE), Angelo Que (PHI), Thammanoon Srirot (THA)
70 - Olle Nordberg (SWE), Simon Yates (SCO), Scott Strange (AUS), Krisada Rangwat (THA), Cookie La'O (PHI), Pat Giles (AUS), Steven Tan (MAS)
71 - Craig Warren (AUS), Rahil Gangjee (IND), James Kingston (RSA), Mahal Pearce (NZL), Bryan Saltus (USA), Hendrik Buhrmann (RSA), Jochen Lupprian (GER), Ashok Kumar (IND), Jerome Delariarte (PHI), Chapchai Nirat (THA), Harmeet Kahlon (IND), Sung Mao-chang (TPE), Suthep Bunpimuck (THA).
