October 17, 2013. He rightly said so, perseverance pays, Sujjan Singh is leading the huge Indian contingent of 15 seasoned golfers at Venetian Macau Open, tied 10th. Sujjan Singh is at the tenth position along with another singh, Jeev milkha Singh, after carding one-under- 70 at the finish of the first round of Macau Open.
While other Indians in fray, SSP Chowrasia, Arjun Atwal, Shankar Das and Himmat Rai are tied 37th. Defending champion, Gaganjeet Bhullar along with Rahil Gangjee , Anirban Lahiri , Ajeetesh Sandhu and Chirag Kumar, is at 53rd position at the end of round one.
Returning from CJ Invitational as runners up last week, Jyoti Randhwa is placed at 74 so far, with a score of three-over 74.
Australia’s Scott Barr carded 3-under-par-68 to finish joint lead with Finnish Kalle Samooza and Ben Campbell of New Zealand. While South African ace golfer Earnie Els, who is also celebrating his birthday today, ended the day tied 21.
The 41-year-old Barr, waiting for first Asian tour victory, produced a measured performance at the par-71 Macau Golf and Country Club, shooting four birdies against a lone bogey to set the early pace with rookie Ben Campbell of New Zealand, who shot the tournament’s first hole-in-one, and Finland’s Kalle Samooja.
Best Indian at Macau , Sujjan Singh turned professional in 2005 and joined the Professional Golf Tour of India,where he has won two events. He has not seen victory at Asian Tour so far, which he joined in 2011, but finished 32nd in the Order of Merit in his debut season to retain his card.
Much experienced, Jeev Milkha Singh had planned his revival at Macau Open after recuperating from finger injury. Jeev finished one-under 70 to stay at 10th position after day one.
“I’m happy with that after all the weeks that I’ve had. I’m glad to be back in Asia. One under has given me a lot of confidence for the next three days. I hit a lot of good shots and putted well. I handled myself well as there was a lot of pain in my hand. I’m glad with one under,” Said Jeev at the end of round one.
