Jeev placed second after six-under 66 round

Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh carded a brilliant bogey-free six-under 66 to be tied for the second place on the opening day of the 120-million-yen Sun Chlorella Classic, an event on the Japanese PGA Tour.

According to information from the par-72 Sapporo Bay Golf Club in Hokkaido, Japan, Jeev, who is sponsored by Hero Honda Motors, made three birdies in either half of his journeys as he finished the day one stroke behind leader Brad Andrews of Australia.

Andrews also had a bogey-free round and finished at seven-under 65. Also in tied second place at 66 were Brendon Jones of Australia and Lin Chien-bing of Taiwan.

"This was a very satisfying round because I am shooting a low number after several days. I have been playing well but I was just not able to convert it into a good score. I am now looking forward to the next three days and would hopefully maintain my rhythm," said the 30-year-old superstar, speaking over phone from Japan.

Jeev started with four successive pars before making back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes. Another birdie on the 416-yard par-4 ninth saw him make the turn at three-under. On the back nine, the Chandigarh pro added birdies on the par-3 12th, par-4 15th and the par-5 18th holes. While his iron play was immaculate, Jeev's putting was in good shape too, as he completed the round in just 26 putts.

"I putted very well today and converted most of the birdie opportunities," said Jeev, whose best finish this season on the Japanese Tour is a dismal tied 20th in Tsuruya Open in the six events he has played thus far.

"I am confident of doing much better than that," added Jeev, who became the only Indian to qualify for the prestigious US Open earlier this year.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 65 _ Brad Andrews; 66 _ Jeev Milkha Singh, Brendan Jones, Lin Chien-Bing; 68 _ Toru Taniguchi, Zhang Lian-wei, Tsuneyuki Nakajima, Naomichi Ozaki, Yoshimitsu Fuzukawa, Christian Pena