Himmat among four Indians in T-15 in Sarawak

Himmat Rai showed a welcome return to form with a four-under 68 that saw him Tied-15th alongside three other Indians after the opening day of the Sarawak Championship here today.

Rai, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Khalin Joshi and Gaganjeet Bhullar -- all shot 68 each to be five shots behind the leader, American Paul Peterson, who fired a personal best of 63 on Asian Tour.

Rai, starting from the 10th, had four birdies in his first six holes and finished at 68, while Joshi, who was one-under through 15 holes, fired birdies on last three holes for a fine finish.

Sandhu, who won his maiden Tour title last year, started from tenth and had four birdies in his last seven holes, while Bhullar had a tidy five birdies against one bogey after his second place finish at Queens Cup.

 

As for other Indians, Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, S Chikkarangappa and M Dharma carded two-under 70 each to T-49th.

Honey Baisoya, Rashid Khan and Aman Raj shot one-under 71 each, while Chiragh Kumar and Viraj Madappa carded even par 72 and Udayan Mane had 75.

Rai said, I played really well. Overall I felt like I left a couple of shots out there. My game plan is to go with what I decided in the practice round. You can score on this golf course but your ball needs to be in the right place to take full advantage. I've done that well today.

"To be honest, it has been quite a ride in the last few years. I was working with my coach on my swing. Yes, I needed changes because at the start of my career, when it was good, it was really good and when it was bad, it was really bad. It was a process. I had a few personal issues but that has been resolved.

I'm enjoying playing again. I'm 31 and the Asian Tour Schedule looks as good as ever. I'm going to take small steps towards the bigger goal.

The 30-year-old Peterson, playing in his second event since taking a six-week break from golf, produced his lowest round score on the Asian Tour with nine birdies at the picturesque Damai Golf and Country Club.

Mark Brown of New Zealand, who won back-to-back Asian Tour titles in India in 2008, trailed in second place following a 65 at the inaugural US$300,000 Asian Tour event.