Chowrasia, Nawab lead Singhania Open

On a day when swirling winds and some tough pin positions took heavy toll on the cards, Mohammed Nawab of Patna sprang a surprise by joining Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia of Calcutta on top of the leaderboard after the first day of the Rs 600,000 Sir Padampat Singhania Open golf championship, being played at the par-72 Army Golf Club course, Dhaulakuan, on Thursday.

Chowrasia and Nawab were joined by two amateurs -- veteran Amit Luthra and youngster Vikrant Chopra -- at level-par 72. Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow and Raju Ali of Calcutta were tied for the third place at one-over 73, while defending champion Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Yusuf Ali were tied fifth at two-over 74.

Arjun Atwal, the star attraction of the tournament, overcame a tiring flight from Australia and shot a four-over 76 to be in joint 15th place.

It could not have been a better start for the 27-year-old Nawab, younger brother of the more established Mohammed Islam. Nawab was disqualified last week during the BPGC Open in Bombay after submitting a wrong card on the second day.

"This was the best thing that could have happened to me after the heartbreak of last week," he said after the round. Nawab was one-under at the turn before making two bogeys on the back nine -- on the 11th and 15th -- which sandwiched a birdie on the par-5 14th hole.

Chowrasia, who was unfortunate not to win his first title as a pro during the Wills Western Open a fortnight back when he lost in a four-way playoff, looked certain to run away with a huge lead. The diminutive Calcuttan began brilliantly with a birdie on the second, where he hit a pitching wedge to three feet. On the par-5 fifth, he was short of the green with his second shot but chipped to less than a feet. On the seventh, he chipped to less than two feet for another birdie.

On the back nine, Chowrasia made a bogey on the 10th but was back to three-under when he birdied the par-5 14th hole.

"Actually, I missed a one-feet birdie opportunity on the 12th, which just upset me a bit," said Chowrasia, who finally courted disaster on the par-4 15th. His hooked his three-wood tee shot and made a double bogey, and then three-putted on the 16th to go back to level-par.

"It was a disappointing way to finish the round as I was certain of finishing at least four-under. The double bogey was more because of the wind, because though I hit a bad tee shot, it was the wind which carried my ball so left," said Chowrasia after the round.

Atwal, who finished tied ninth two weeks ago in the South African Open, an European Tour event, began brilliantly with a birdie on the opening hole and followed it up with another on the fifth. But it was all downhill thereafter for the Hero Honda Masters champion as he made a triple bogey on the sixth hole. He made three bogeys and no birdie on the back nine.

LUTHRA, CHOPRA LEAD AMATEURS: Amit Luthra, member of the 1982 Asian Games gold medal winning Indian team, and Vikrant Chopra led the amateurs at level-par 72. Vikram Rana was third at four-over 76, while Anitya Chand was fourth at seven-over 79.

Luthra made bogies on the second, third and fourth holes to be three-over before a birdie on the ninth saw him make the turn at two-over 38. He was three-over after the 13th holes with another bogey on the 10th. But he essayed a brilliant finish by making birdies on the 14th, 15th and 18th holes to finish the day at level-par 72.

Vikrant finished both the halves in 36 for his even-par effort. Starting from the 10th tee, he was two-under before making a double bogey on the par-3 16th hole. On the back nine, he had three birdies, but they were negated by three bogeys.

SCORES (after 18 holes): 72 _ Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, Mohammed Nawab; 73 _ Sanjay Kumar, Raju Ali; 74 _ Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Yusuf Ali; 75 _ Basad Ali, Rohtas Singh, Shiv Prakash, Rahul Ganapathy, Ikramuddin Shah, Jumman; Amateurs: 72 _ Vikrant Chopra, Amit Luthra 76 _ Vikram Rana