Jyoti second, Jeev and Kapur sixth at European Open

LONDON - It seemed an Indian summer at the European Open with all three Indians in the fray placed inside top-six at the end of the first round at the London Golf Club.

While Jyoti Randhawa, fresh from a skydiving holiday in the US, shot a six-under 66 to be tied second, Jeev Milkha Singh shot a 67 and Shiv kapur, who of late has taken to meditation, also brought home a 67.

Anders Hansen chipped in for an eagle on his penultimate hole to take a one shot lead at 65. The Jo’burg Open winner carded a seven under par 65 to lead Thomas Aiken, Peter Hanson, Sam Little and Randhawa by a stroke after the opening day.

Randhawa was closely followed by Kapur and Jeev on five under par, along with seven others.

I played pretty good today. I made five birdies and no bogeys, which is a good thing. I holed a good putt on last for a par, that was like a 12-footer and that is quite satisfying, Jeev said.

“The golf course is excellent. I think it was quite different from yesterday. Because of the wind yesterday, I think they are going to cancel the round. But the weather is nice today. I think if you’re playing in the morning, you should take advantage of it, because then it’s completely a different golf course without the breeze.

Jeev added that he was dividing his time between US and Europe. I finished fourth in the CA Championship, so I am focussing to play a lot more in US this year. I’m going to play about 15 events there and will play as many here.”

Shiv Kapur, who has been in mid-30s in last two events, said: I played nine holes yesterday in the morning and then rested at home. I just told myself today that I will keep the ball in play and will create opportunities.

On his preparations, Kapur revealed: Well, do I a bit of medication, the Art of Living, some yoga and meditation that’s helped me calm myself down and stay in the moment rather than get ahead of myself. I think I managed to do that pretty well today.