Arjun Atwal, putting like a dream, rode a five-birdie streak to bring in a five-under 66 and lie 14th on a crowded leaderboard at the Wichita Open on the Nationwide Tour in the US.
Atwal, who is now topping the putting averages on the Nationwide Tour needed just 22 putts for the round at the Crestview Country Club on Thursday.
Atwal, former Asia No. 1, was four shots behind leader Nicholas Thompson, who shot a flawless 62 to take a two-stroke lead after the opening round.
Playing at the shortish 6,886-yard, par-71 which affords a lot of birdie opportunities, Atwal started on the tenth and birdied the 11th.
But he dropped a shot on 12th hole, which brought him back to par. Then came the superb stretch from 14th to 18th where he birdied each of the five holes and then added another birdie on second. He was six-under at that stage. A dropped shot on fourth meant he finished at five-under.
Thompson who has one win on Nationwide at the  New Zealand PGA Championship also has five other top-10 finishes and ranks No. 5 on the money list and is well one his way to earning a spot in ‘The 25’ at the end of the year, which would result in a PGA TOUR card in 2008.
Jeev begins well
Jeev Milkha Singh made a decent start with a two-over 72 on a tough scoring day at the challenging Firestone Country Club to be 38th at the end of the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, USA, adds PTI.
The field is being shared by three players Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey and Rory Sabbatini who shot 67 each and defending champion Tiger Woods lurking a stroke back.