Aussie says patience was key factor on a difficult course as Indian Open golf gets off to a mixed start.

By Prateek Srivastava

Australian Adam Blyth turned in a blithe opening round of 8-under 64 to lead the USD 1.25 million Indian Open at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon on Thursday.

Big Indian names such as Gaganjeet Singh Bhullar and Arjun Atwal however turned out to be blighters as they tossed in a mournful 73 and 75, respectively.

Swede of Indian origin Daniel Chopra stayed in contention after a gratifying round of 67. US Open winner Michael Campbell too failed to live up to the buzz around him as he returned a lowly 76.

Blyth, who was beaten by Bhullar at the Indonesian Open in July, was in an unyielding mood and from the first hole looked like a man possessed: he uncorked three birdies on the first three holes he played. He carried on with his delightful strokes to lead Korean Lee Sung by one stroke while Indian C. Muniyappa (66) and Aussie Jason King shared the third spot, two strokes off the pace.

Twenty eight-year-old Blyth, who was third at the last edition of the Indian Open, was pleased with his performance. “I got off to a great start. I felt really good about my game but then I kind of slowed down a bit before a strong finish. It is my best round on the Asian Tour so I am delighted,” the world number 284 said.

Blyth, who played in the Dunhill Championship in Scotland last week, said it was patience that did the job for him. “I think I played great in Scotland but it was just not really happening in terms of scoring. I knew if I kept patience it would come,” he said.

Chopra, trailing by 3 strokes, admitted that on a not very favourable course he did very well. “The golf course is very tough to get the ball on the fairways. They are sloped and the ball can easily kick off to one side. You really have to shape your shots to fit the hole. So I have all reasons to be happy,” he said.

Amidst disappointments from big Indian names, Muniyappa has kept up the Indian hopes alive. Digvijay Singh, Harinder Gupta and Arjun Singh too were not far behind with a 68 each.

Clearly, Australians have made the most of the first round, and though Bhullar and Atwal are looking sad as an exit is looming over their heads, their familiarity with the course cannot be discounted, and who knows, Friday may bring good tidings for them.

Leaderboard, Round One: 1. Adam Blyth (AUS) (8-under 64), 2. Lee Sung (KOR) (7-under 65), 3.C. Muniyappa (IND), Jason King (AUS) (6-under 66), 5. Unho Park (AUS), Daniel Chopra (SWE), Keith Horne (RSA) (5-under 67) 8. Digvijay Singh, (IND) Harinder Gupta (IND), Arjun Singh (IND), Kwanchai Tannin (THA) (4-under 68).

Notables: Ganganjeet Singh Bhullar (IND) (1-over 73), Arjun Atwal (IND) (3-over 75), Michael Campbell (NZ) (4-over 76), Thaworn Wiratchant (3-over 75), Anirban Lahiri (level par 72).