Jeev Milkha Singh got off to a decent start by firing a sedate opening round of two-under 68 for the tied 10th place in the Dunlop Phoenix golf tournament here on Thursday.
The highest-ranked Indian golfer parred the first seven holes for a cautious start and followed it with back-to-back birdies to round off his front stretch at two-under at the par-70 Phoenix Country Club.
His back stretch saw a remarkable string of nine par shots as Jeev went on to complete his round without any blemish in the card and join 11 others players  including defending champion Padraig Harrington at the 10th slot.
At the top of the table, the trio of Ian Poulter, Kyung-Tae Kim and Toshinori Muto returned identical rounds of five-under 65 to share the top slot, one stroke ahead of the Gonzales Fdez Castano-Chris Campbell duo.
Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra fired an opening round of four-under 66 to be tied eighth, while Shiv Kapur kicked off his campaign with a solid 67 for a share of the 18th place in the $2.25 million Hong Kong Open on Thursday, adds PTI from Hong Kong.
A 10th tee starter, Chopra birdied the 10th, 11th and 13th but his rhythm was snapped by the dropped shot on the 15th and he took the turn at two-under. On resumption, he bogeyed the first hole but fired birdies on the third, fourth and seventh to make amends.
Great start
Shiv Kapur, also playing his back nine first, had a great start as he birdied the 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th before stumbling on his first bogey on the 18th.
When he resumed, the Delhi golfer dropped two more bogeys on the first and fifth but managed to keep things under control by picking up a shot each on the third and seventh.
South Korean stalwart KJ Choi, tipped to be Asia’s first Major winner, blasted eight-under 62 to grab the opening round lead, ahead of Walesman Garry Houston.
Choi set the course on fire on his back nine and reeled off five birdies in a row from the 12th hole for a sensational round to prove why he is considered among the favourites here.
The bogey on the ninth hole was the lone blip in an impeccable round that was studded with nine birdies at the par-70 Hong Kong Golf Club.
Among other Indians in the fray, SSP Chowrasia carded 69 to be tied 50th, while fellow Kolkata pro Rahul Gangjee and Amandeep Johl turned in identical rounds of one-over 70 to be tied 82nd.
Veteran Gaurav Ghei slumped to tied 131st after going four-over 75 and he would need a miracle of sort to finish on the right side of the cut line on Friday.