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Digvijay, Mukesh in lead

CHENNAI Aug. 20. He reserved the worst for the last. But, then, the 18th hole of the Cosmo-TNGF course is an unforgiving one and Digvijay Singh could hardly have been faulted for missing a par putt there at the end of a near-flawless round of golf on the first day of the Colorplus Open on Tuesday.

No matter that missed putt, missed by no more than two inches, Digvijay Singh from Meerut shared the top position in the leader board with Mukesh Kumar from Mhow, firing a five-under 67. On a spruced up course, playing without preferred lies, Digvijay in fact could have even challenged the course record but for missed putts on the last three holes, the five-par 16th, the tricky three-par 17th and then the always difficult four-par 18th.

``I am not happy with the way I finished but it is a good start. The conditions are good here and I am really enjoying myself,'' said Digvijay Singh. Winner of the season's first event in Srinagar, Digvijay had birdies on the first and sixth holes before firing an eagle on the seventh with a 12-feet putt that capped two good drives.

Mukesh Kumar, Champion Golfer of the Year on the Hero Honda Tour, had birdies on the first, second, seventh, 10th, 11th and 16th holes. His solitary bogey came on the 17th. ``If I play like this, I fancy my chances here. I have no problems with my game,'' said Mukesh who appeared confident both from the fairway and the green.

Rajiv Kumar, Shiv Prakash and Shamim Khan all shot three-under 69 to share the third spot on a day when 31 players had par score or below. Vijay Kumar, winner of the TNGF Open last week, turned in a par card of 72, while the defending champion Feroz Ali had a round of 71.

In the amateur section, Sandeep Syal was ahead of the pack with a one-under 71.

Leading pro scores: 67: Digvijay Singh, Mukesh Kumar; 69: Rajiv Kumar, Shiv Prakash, Shamim Khan; 70: Ashok Kumar, Rafiq Ali, Sachin Nigade, Zai Kipgen, Rajit Singh; 71: Akbar Ali, Ali Sher, Bhoop Singh, C. Kumar, Feroz Ali, Indrajit Bhalotia, Minky Barbora, Md. Islam, R. Nandakumar, Sanjay Kumar, Uttam Singh Mundy.

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