Arjun Atwal closed with two birdies in his last three holes to repair the damage of a triple bogey as he finished with a three-over 73 in the opening round of the St Jude Championship in Memphis.

As only seven players had sub-par rounds and another 11 were even par at the par-70 lay-out, Atwal, tied 45th, would have been inside the top-10 but for his triple bogey on the fifth. South African Retief Goosen is in a tie for third place with Brian Gay after a two-under 68.

Kapur in trouble
Shiv Kapur had a forgettable day as he failed to land a single birdie and had six bogeys in a six-over 77 that left him in deep danger of missing the cut at the Austrian Open, reports PTI from Vienna.

Kapur was tied 148th and will need a big effort in the second round to stay on for the weekend at the Fontana Course.

Graeme Storm, who withdrew from US Open qualifying due to lack of confidence, led the first round. He shot an eight-under 63 to equal the course record.

Chowrasia fourth
India’s S S P Chowrasia carded a five-under-par 66 and moved to the tied fourth spot in the Bangkok Airways Open on Friday, adds Agencies from Koh Samui.

Chowrasia took his two-day tally to five-under-par 137, shares the fourth spot alongside Singapore’s Mardan Mamat (65) and Australian young gun Adam Blyth (68) two strokes off the pace.