![\"Shiv-Kapur-200\"](\"images\/golf\/Shiv-Kapur-200.jpg\")
Kuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Shiv Kapur shot seven birdies over a nine-hole stretch as he overcame a calamitous start for a first round three-under-par 69 at the US$7 million CIMB Classic on Thursday.<\/p>\nKuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Shiv Kapur shot seven birdies over a nine-hole stretch as he overcame a calamitous start for a first round three-under-par 69 at the US$7 million CIMB Classic on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Asian Tour star battled hard to end the opening day in tied 12th place, six shots behind leader Ryan Moore of the United States in the lucrative event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGA TOUR.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good. Obviously a little bump to start but I think it’s even more satisfying to come through after a bad start and shoot 69,\u201d said Kapur, who dropped two bogeys and one double in his opening five holes at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club\u2019s West course.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously four over after five holes, I said to my caddie, \u2018look, I haven’t really hit too many bad shots\u2019. I had a bad lie in the rough on 14 and I should have probably played away from the water and made double there.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after that, I was swinging it well, hitting good shots. I just tried to get back to as close to par and once I did that, I just kept going and going and made seven birdies in my last 13 holes or in fact seven birdies in a stretch of nine holes.\u201d<\/p>\n
India\u2019s other representatives in the CIMB Classic, which has attracted 18 of the world\u2019s top-50 players in the field including the top-10 players from the Asian Tour, endured mixed fortunes.<\/p>\n
Gaganjeet Bhullar, currently third on the Asian Tour\u2019s Order of Merit, battled to a 72 after finishing with two birdies over his last three holes while Anirban Lahiri, who was runner-up in the Venetian Macau Open last week, settled for a 74 after shooting two birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey.<\/p>\n
Kapur, who started from the 10th hole, said he reminded himself to stay positive despite his stuttering start as the front-nine stretch of holes was the easier to negotiate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just got to take it in your stride and just keep plugging along and keep giving yourself birdie putts. I managed to hit a few close and bring it back. The course is playing a lot different than what it does in the Malaysian Open. The greens are much firmer and there’s a big premium on hitting fairways. I think if you hit fairways then you’ve got a lot of birdie opportunities, but if you’re slightly out of position, it’s tough to hold the greens and make putts,\u201d said Kapur.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it’s like a tale of two halves, the back nine is obviously playing a lot harder, not just because I played badly on it, but I think the front nine there’s definitely more scoring opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
With no half-way cut in the elite 78-man field, Kapur knows he must keep his foot on the pedal to ensure he stays within striking reach of the leaders and a big payday on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a start. Being a couple over kind of takes you out of the tournament, but when you’re three under, with a good round tomorrow you’re still right in it, so I think I’d like to say the old cliche, \u2018you can lose a tournament in the first day, but you can’t win it.\u2019 At least I haven’t lost it on the first day,\u201d said Kapur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Shiv Kapur shot seven birdies over a nine-hole stretch as he overcame a calamitous start for a first round three-under-par 69 at the US$7 million CIMB Classic on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Asian Tour star battled hard to end the opening day in tied 12th place, six shots behind leader Ryan Moore of the United States in the lucrative event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGA TOUR.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was good. Obviously a little bump to start but I think it’s even more satisfying to come through after a bad start and shoot 69,\u201d said Kapur, who dropped two bogeys and one double in his opening five holes at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club\u2019s West course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-latest"],"yoast_head":"\n