Shiv Kapur staged a brilliant comeback on the second nine with five birdies in nine holes to close with a two-under 70, which saw him tied seventh at the end of the first round of the Volvo China Open here today.
Kapur, starting from the 10th, was three-over after seven holes with three bogeys in a row from 14th to 16th holes. On the second nine, the front stretch of the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, Kapur birdied the first, fourth and sixth and then added two more on eighth and ninth for a five-under 31 on the run.
Meanwhile, his colleague SSP Chawrasia, starting from the first finished at four-over 76 and is in danger of missing the cut at tied 102nd. Chawrasia had one birdie on second and then bogeyed the fourth and fifth, double bogeyed the ninth and then bogeyed again on 16th.
England's David Howell continued his excellent start to the year as he grabbed a share of the first round lead alongside Welshman Bradley Dredge and New Zealand's Michael Hendry.
Already a runner-up in Johannesburg this season and fourth in last week's Shenzhen International, the former Ryder Cup star compiled a four under par round of 68 to join Dredge and Hendry at the top of the leaderboard.
Whilst both Dredge and Hendry, who is going for back-to-back wins after his victory in Japan last week, produced flawless rounds in the morning.
The 39-year-old Howell had to contend with a slight breeze in the afternoon and an opening birdie was cancelled out by a dropped shot at the third.
Having reached red figures again with a gain at the ninth, Howell converted a chance from eight feet at the 11th, chipped to two feet at the 13th, and saved the best for last by holing a 40-footer on the 17th for his fifth and final birdie of the day.
France's Alex Levy opened the defence of his title with a round of 69 to share third place with his compatriot Julien Quesne and Australian Marcus Fraser.
