Jyoti rallies after a slow start at Singapore Open

SENTOSA - Jyoti Randhawa, who has been struggling with his rhythm this season, Thursday rallied from early mistakes to finish the day with a steady one-under 70 on a difficult first day of the $5 million Barclay’s Singapore Open.

Randhawa, who won here in 2000, before the event became a big-ticket tournament was tied seventh with Phil Mickelson and six others.

Flashy Englishman Ian Poulter, who pulled out of last year’s edition because of the absence of his regular clubs, shot four birdies in a space of five holes towards the end of his round to take the clubhouse lead at five-under 66 in the morning and stayed there till the end of the day.

Playing his first event in six week, Poulter had six birdies and one bogey, which came on first, his tenth hole of the day. His birdie spree took place between the fifth and eighth on his second nine.

He leads Ernie Els and Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yih-shin by one stroke after he dropped just one shot around the Serapong Course before lightning around the course caused a three-hour suspension of play midway through the first round. That meant the entire afternoon lot was yet to complete their first round.

Els playing with Randhawa shot a flawless four-under 67, which he said gave him a good feeling for the week. Qualifier, Chan Yih-Shih of Chinese Taipei also carded a bogey-free 67 to share second place with Els.

Among the big names, Padraig Harrington was par after 10, Adam Scott was par after eight, Miguel Jimenez shot a 74 and Darren Clarke was three-over after 11 holes.

Apart from Randhawa, the only two others Indians to finish their first rounds had mixed results. Digvijay Singh had an up-and-down round for a one-over 72 that included three bogeys, a double bogey and four birdies. SSP Chowrasia struggled as he has done for most part of the season, for his five-over 76 that left him staring at an early exit from the tournament.

Gaurav Ghei was one-under through six holes, managing to birdie the last hole before play was stopped. Shiv Kapur also managed a last-minute birdie and moved to par after 13 holes. Chinnaswamy Muniyappa was also par through seven holes, while Gaganjeet Bhullar went through a bumpy two-over for 10 holes.

Randhawa was in the morning half of the draw, which managed to complete their round on a rain-hit day, while the afternoon lot had anything between six and 12 holes left when the day ended. They will return in the morning to complete their second round.

“Considering how tough the golf course is playing and the pin positions being difficult, a one-under is not too bad,” said Randhawa. “I played well and putted decently as compared to last week (in Johor).”

The World No.2 Phil Mickelson carded a two-under 69 and said: “I played well today and hit a lot of good shots. The course is in wonderful condition but it is also very difficult with the rough being so thick. The

The weather for the first half of the day oscillated between warm, sunny and then cloudy with a spot of light rain in between. But finally the sun disappeared for the day and heavy downpour accompanied by lightning halted the play for three hours.

Poulter, who has brought seven pairs of shoes with him, and not played for six weeks, said: “I practiced hard for a few weeks to get ready for the next seven weeks in a row. There were no mistakes on the back nine, which was my front nine. Then I bogeyed the first but started to hit some good shots to create a few chances with a few holes to play.”