Kapur, Bhullar among five tied first in Pattaya
Indian golfers ShivKap ur and Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the quintet in share of the first-round lead at fourunder 67 at the Royal Cup golf tournament here on Thursday.
Two other Indians, Jyoti Randhawa and Khalin Koshi carded 70 each and were T-20.
Making things close was the fact that 27 golfers are within three shots of the lead at 2017' sf in al event being played at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club here.
Newly-wed Bhullar enjoyed a bogey-free round, highlighted by birdies on holes six, seven, 10 and 11. The 29year-old In dian did not have ample time to prepare for the USD 500,000 tournament as he arrived in Thailand the previous night.
However, he played on the same course last year and after five holes, he adapted to the setup. B hull ar said ," I had a good, stable round. I hit the ball really well. I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities but because I mis read the speed of the greens, I missed some of them. Overall, it's a decent sta rt to th e tournament.
"I actually played without a practice round as I arrived last night, but because I played here last year, I have a rough idea of what's going on at the course.
"It took me a few holes to get used to the speed and the slopes. By hole five, I was a little more confident and comfortable. I' m looking forward to the next three days."
Kapur got jolted into a competitive mindset after his bo - gey on the 14th, his fifth hole of theround.
Kapur, w ho r ecently w elcomed the birth of his daughter, went o n to ca rd four birdies over seven holes before stringing a serie sof pars to close the round.
He said, "I started off striking the ball very well and I've left quite a few sho ts ou t there. I putted 31 ti mes a nd shot 67, which me ans tha t I've d one v ery w ell w hen it comes to ball striking.
"I made a goo d par save on the l ast fr om the b unker. When you hole a good putt on the last hole, it always leaves a good taste in the mouth.
"My bogey o n the 14th g ot me to re -focus an d think. I told m yself, 'you're p laying well, b ut you h ave to b uckle down.' T his is especia lly so , when yo u haven't pla yed f or some tim e a nd y our shar pness isn't there. I bounced back with a bir die on 15th, which set the tone for the rest of the day."