Mukesh Kumar makes another
good start

Displaying a Byron Nelson-like winning streak on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour, Mukesh Kumar reaffirmed his reputation as the man to beat when he strode to the joint lead along with Vinod Kumar on the opening day of the Rs 950,000 Surya Nepal Masters, being played at the par-72 Gokarna Forest Golf Resort course, in Kathmandu, on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old pro from Mhow and young Delhiite Vinod shot rounds of five-under 67 to enjoy a one-stroke advantage over former champion Uttam Singh Mundy of Kolkata, who was placed third at four-under 68.

Brothers Feroz and Rafiq Ali were in tied fourth place at three-under 69. Deepak Acharya was the best-placed Nepali pro and was tied-seventh at one-under 71. C B Bhandari and Tashi Ghale led the amateurs with scores of three-over 75.

Lord Nelson won 11 successive titles in a row on the US PGA Tour in 1945 and an incredible 18 victories in 35 tournaments that season. Mukesh has won six times in his last seven appearances on the Tour and is yet to finish outside the top-three in last nine outings. On Wednesday, he was first to tee off from the tenth tee after early morning fog delayed the start by an hour. A par on the 10th was followed by successive birdies on the par-5 11th and 12th, but that was negated by bogies on the 14th and 15th. A birdie on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th, where his putt ran off the fast-paced green, saw him make the turn at even-par.

On the back nine, Mukesh parred the first three holes and then caught fire. He birdied the short par-4 fourth after driving the green, birdied the fifth, missed a small birdie putt on the sixth and finished with three birdies in his last three holes for a five-under 67.

"Even though I am delighted with the way I started the tournament, I am hurting because of the fact that I made three bogies on my front nine. It would have been much better if I could have avoided them," said the thrice Champion Golfer of the Year.

Vinod hit the ball beautifully and found all 18 greens in regulation. The 21-year-old made six birdies, most of them from within five feet, and a solitary three-putt bogey on the 15th hole.

"I have been playing well in the last few tournaments but the consistency is missing. Hopefully, I will keep up the momentum in the next three days," said Vinod after the round.

Mundy kick-started his round with three birdies in the first four holes and made seven in all, but a double bogey on the ninth, where he lost the ball after his tee shot hit the tree on the left. His other bogey was a result of three putts on the seventh hole.

"I hit the ball solid today and deserved a much better score than what I finally achieved. But 68 is a good start," said the 1997 champion.

Acharya, the local pro at Gokarna Forest Golf Resort, had a terrible day on the tricky greens. Despite his immense local knowledge, the 27-year-old three-putted the sixth and missed short par putts on the 14th and 16th for bogies.

"The three-putt on the sixth disturbed my concentration and putting confidence. Otherwise, I was playing really well," said Acharya, who made four birdies.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 67 _ Mukesh Kumar, Vinod Kumar; 68 _ Uttam Singh Mundy; 69 _ Feroz Ali, Rafiq Ali; 70 _ Ajay Gupta; 71 _ Deepak Acharya, Pappan, Vishal Singh, Amritinder Singh, Zai Kipgen; 73 _ Raju Ali; 74 _ Sabin Sapkota, Sanjay Kumar, Rahil Gangjee, Rahul Ganapathy, Roop Singh, Digvijay Singh.

Amateurs: 75_ CB Bhandari, Tashi Ghale; 80 _ Mani Rai.