The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Jeev falters

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Saturday, Mar 24, 2007
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Jeev falters

Miami: Jeev Milkha Singh ran into trouble on the last hole of the day as he double bogeyed to card two-over 74 and be tied 38th place in the WGC-CA golf tournament on a rather windy day.

Jeev was at par before he dropped two shots on the ninth hole, where he went into the greenside bunker from the tee. He left himself short as he went into the left rough and then reached the green in three.

His bogey putt from nine feet stopped two inches short and he took a five.

Henrik Stenson, who captured his first World Golf Championships last month, put himself in shared lead with a five-under 67 with Robert Allenby. It was a day when the wind was strong and steady and the scoring was tough at the Blue Monster. There was also occasional rain. This is the first time a World Golf Championships has come to Doral. Just 15 players broke par and another 11 were at par.

Birdie start

Jeev, who lost in the first round at World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, started with a birdie on the 10th. But he gave up that good start with back-to-back bogeys on 12th and 13th. A birdie on 16th brought him to par.

On the second stretch, the front half of the course, Jeev birdied the first and second. But then immediately the tough course extracted its pound of flesh for missed chances and he bogeyed three in a row. A birdie on sixth once again brought him to par.

Then came the double bogey at par-3 169-yard ninth and he slipped to 38th instead of a chance of being in top-20 after first day. There is no cut in the tournament, where the field is 73 players.

``It was tough out, but at the highest level, there will be challenges of all kind. I need to get used to all that to play in America,'' said Jeev, Asian Tour No.1 last year.

He is currently 46th in the world, after being 37th at the end of 2006.

Struggling with wind

Stenson despite struggling with the wind, made seven birdies on his way to a 5-under 67. Stenson won the WGC Match Play last month in the high desert of Arizona.

Tiger Woods, who shot a 43 on the back nine of Bayhill, shot a 71 in first round at Doral. Woods, playing with Allenby, hit the ball well but took 32 putts as the frustration mounted. Allenby also made seven birdies.

Thomas Bjorn of Denmark had a 68, while Howell was joined at 69 by Aaron Baddeley of Australia and two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain. Ernie Els was in the group at 70, but missed two birdie from inside six feet and another par putt from same distance. Masters champion Phil Mickelson closed with one of only two birdies on the 18th hole to shoot 77. Vijay Singh, coming off the win at Bayhill shot a double bogey on 18th to card 74.

Solid starts

Korea's K.J. Choi and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand enjoyed solid starts shooting 71 and 72 respectively. Choi, a four-time winner on the US PGA Tour, fired four birdies against three dropped shots to lie in 10th place, four shots behind leaders. — PTI

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