India's Gaganjeet Bhullar put out a worthy performance in his maiden debut at the world's oldest major by carding a one-over par 71 to finish in the same score as world number one, Tiger Woods in the opening round on Thursday.
The young Indian who is leading the Indian charge following fellow compatriot's Jeev Milkha Singh's withdrawal at the 138th edition of the British Open due to rib injury did not disappoint.
However Bhullar, who has not been playing competitively for almost two months, had to take some time to get back into his routine again.
"This is my first competitive round after almost two months and it took me some time to adjust to the conditions again. If you are playing like seven to eight weeks in a roll, then it's still fine but playing after a long break is totally different," said Bhullar.
The 20-year-old registered a triple bogey and bogey in his opening second and third hole. But with his father and sports psychologist cheering him on, the Indian overcame his nervy start and put out an assured performance that underlined his growing credentials as one of the brightest young talent on the Asian Tour.
"I'm really enjoying all the support that everyone is giving me this week. In fact my dad has also become somewhat of a psychologist as his presence here has helped to calm me down a lot," said Bhullar.
Bhullar eventually went on to mark his card with a total of seven birdies against a triple bogey, double bogey and three bogeys to cap a memorable start to his major campaign at the Ailsa Course in Turnberry.
"It's a pretty decent finish considering my shaky start. But after overcoming that, I slowly recovered and never looked back," said Bhullar.
"I've worked hard to be here and I told myself to be proud of myself and just go out there and enjoy the occasion," added the Indian.
Meanwhile Asian Tour's honorary member, Vijay Singh of Fiji posted a 67 to put himself in a strong position for his fourth major title since his last three wins at the Masters in 2000 and PGA Championship in 1998 and 2004.
"It was a reasonable round of golf. The golf course is not very tough as there's no wind today. If you hit the ball straight and make a few putts, you can hit a low number," said Singh who enjoyed a blemish free round that was highlighted by three birdies.
Fellow-Asian Tour honorary member K.J Choi of Korea however had to content with a 74 while two-time Asian Tour winner Mark Brown of New Zealand posted a 71 heading into the second round on Friday.
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