Selangor: India's Jyoti Randhawa, who did not touch a club for three-and-a-half weeks, came back in full flow as he shot a 67 to be tied fourth on the opening day of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters here on Wednesday.
He was still five shots behind Finland's Joonas Granberg, who had a new course record of 10-under-par 62.
Granberg, 24, had a spectacular eagle on his opening hole and had nine birdies and a bogey at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club. South African Tjaart Van Der Walt, who returned a bogey-free 65 in the $400,000) tournament.
Randhawa, Asia's No.1 in 2002 and winner at Kota Permai in 2004, Korea's Mo Joong-kyung and rising Thai star Pariya Junhasavasdikul fired 67s.
Other leading Indian scores were Ashok Kumar (68) in tied seventh, Gaurav Ghei, Rashid Khan and Himmat Rai in tied 15th place at 69, while others were Himmat Rai (70) and Gaganjeet Bhullar and Manav Jaini at 71 each.
Granberg, who improved the previous course mark by one shot, was surprised with his stunning start especially when he slept for only three hours last night due to jetlag. But after he sank a wedge approach shot at his first hole, he was wide awake and running on all four cylinders to turn in 29 with five more birdies. He came home with four more birdies against a three-putt bogey on the second.
Randhawa was delighted to soar into contention and credited a sky-diving holiday in the US during summer for his flying start.
"I've not touched a club for the past month and half," said Randhawa, who triumphed in the 2004 Volvo Masters of Asia at Kota Permai. "I've been sky-diving. I did some 50 jumps in America … mind off golf and now mind on golf. I think it works for me. When I won the Thailand Open two years ago, I remember I was scuba diving all week. I'm now a veteran, no longer the young guy. I know what to do and how to play the game. It's all about the mind for me now. If I can get my mental framing right, I know exactly what to do. And when the mind tells the body, the body starts to behave."
Comments
0 comment