Augusta: Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh made a dream debut at the Augusta Masters, carding a creditable level-par 72, to be placed above the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelsen at tied 10th after the opening round here on Thursday.

On a day when the famed Augusta National Club bared its teeth, just 14 players shot par or under, Jeev, with four birdies and four bogeys, was three behind joint-leaders, Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich.

Woods opened with a one-over 73, but he has never bettered 70 on the Masters opening day in 10 years during which he has won four times.

Opening with par

The first Indian to qualify for the Major, Jeev settled the early butterflies by holing a six-foot par putt on the opening hole and then rolled his first birdie of the day at the fourth hole from 10 feet.

From then on he floated on the wings of two other birdies to become the first Indian to find himself atop a leader-board in a major, albeit, briefly.

The second half dashed dreams of an even better finish, but Jeev said, "I will take that score any day. But I must say I was annoyed with the last bogey. Otherwise during a round, you make some and you miss some. That's the way it is in this game."

Jeev played a bogey-free front nine in three-under 33 with birdies on the third, sixth and eighth. However, the course struck back and had its revenge on the back nine, as the greens, where he needed just 11 putts on the front half, took a toll on the back journey.

Two bogeys

Jeev dropped a bogey on the 10th. On the 14th, his 10-foot par putt curled around the cup and left him with another bogey and that turned his card to even par.

A nice birdie following a brave second shot over the water and onto the green gave Jeev an outside chance of an eagle, which he missed but still got a tap-in birdie. But on the last hole, he found the upper lip of a menacing bunker and after getting out of it he missed an eight-footer for par.

Jeev's brilliant showing came in front of a very appreciative audience at the Augusta and it included many from his family.

When asked about his achievement and what it would mean for the sport back in India, Jeev said "it is good for the game in India. The media is taking a lot of interest and hopefully more young golfers will come up."

By the time Jeev ended the day, the TV channels had shown enough interest in him and no sooner did he finish the round, Jeev was besieged by the world and American media, who had seen little of him in Major championships despite making the cut in the U.S. Open on both his previous appearances.

"I was excited with the way I played today. I was nervous on the first tee but I played pretty good on the front nine, shooting three under where I holed a lot of putts.

"On the back nine, I didn't make too many putts but that's okay. I'm pretty happy with my first round at Augusta National," Jeev said.

Among the other established names in the field, World No. 7 Vijay Singh shot a 73 to be tied with Woods at tied 15th.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, languished at the tied 40th position after carding a poor four-over 76. — PTI

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