Birthday boy Amritinder leads Singhania Open

Amritinder Singh gave himself the best possible birthday gift with an error-free round of five-under 67, giving him the opening day's lead at the Rs 600,000 Sir Padampat Singhania Open 2002, being played at the par-72, Noida Golf course.

The tournament marks the 20th leg of the 2001-02 season's Hero Honda Golf Tour.

Lucknow's Sanjay Kumar was menacingly poised one stroke behind the leader at four-under 68.

Kolkata's Feroz Ali, locked in a fierce battle for supremacy with Mhow's Mukesh Kumar, returned a three-under 69 to tie at third spot with defending champion and fellow Kolkatan SSP Chowrasia.

Delhi's Ashok Kumar, playing his first Hero Honda Golf Tour event, after an impressive professional debut at last week's Hero Honda Masters, played to two-under 70 to tie for the fifth position with local golfer Amit Dube.

Amritinder Singh made the perfect entry into his fourth decade on earth. The Chandigarh based pro couldn't err today even if he wished to.

"Everything clicked for me in some strange manner," he said. At last week's Hero Honda Masters, Amritinder put himself under unnecessary pressure, which automatically stiffened his swing.

"Today, I came in with just one aim. To swing it freely and enjoy my game," he said. This policy worked wonders and was good enough to place him atop the leader-board.

Amritinder began his round with a sea of pars and ended his outward journey with a birdie on the 9th.

"I got lucky on the 9th where my tee shot rammed straight into a tree only to roll back onto the fairway. From there I hit it to 15 feet and sank the putt," said the thrice Hero Golf Chandigarh Open winner.

Thereafter, the Asian PGA Tour regular caught fire to birdie the 12th and 14th with the highlight of his round coming in the form of an eagle on the 17th.

Amritinder's accuracy today can best be described by his 3-wood second shot on the par-5 17th. The ball covered 270 yards before coming to rest just 6-feet from the pin. Needless to say, he drained the putt.

Sanjay Kumar has had a number of consistent starts this season but has failed to add to his two wins on the Hero Honda Golf Tour. Today, Sanjay returned as many as six birdies these coming on the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 9th, 10th and 11th. Dropped shots on the 8th and 16th however, cost him the lead.

"I am not too disappointed at missing out on the lead. I will be happier leading the field on the final day," said a confident Sanjay.

Bahuguna leads amateur field; Jadeja impresses: Local hero Saurav Bahuguna returned a level-par 72 to assume a three-stroke lead among the amateurs.

Former Test cricketer Ajay Jadeja impressed with a three-over 75. Jadeja was tied second with Anitya Chand, Simarjeet Singh and Vikramjit Singh.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 67_Amritinder Singh; 68_Sanjay Kumar, 69_Feroz Ali, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia; 70_Ashok Kumar, Amit Dube; 71_Asgar Ali, Jumman, Shamim Khan; 72_Mohd. Islam, Mukesh Kumar, Rafiq Ali; 73_Akbar Ali, GS Sethi, Sheeraz Kalra, Suleiman Ali, Yusuf Ali.

Amateurs: 72_Saurav Bahuguna; 75_Ajay Jadeja, Anitya Chand, Simarjeet Singh, Vikramjit Singh