July 4, 2014: India’s trio of golfers left themselves a mountain to climb on Friday, in order to try and avoid the ignominy of a missed cut at the Alstom Open de France. Shiv Kapur was lying T67 after making five bogeys in a 2-over 73 on Thursday. JeevMilkha Singhwas down in 92nd after scoring 74 and GaganjeetBhullarwas tending to his scars, from a double bogey at the ninth hole and a quadruple bogey at the par-3 16th hole. Debutant Kevin Stadler had a sensational first round – seven under 64 to take the outright lead. Marcel Siem fired into second with a 65.
Kapur started on the back nine – though he made a couple of birdies on the 14th and 16th, he was setback by bogeys at 11, 15 and 17 to make the turn in 36. The return home was no better as he took 37 to complete his first round at two over.
Jeev’s effort was far more sedate, his card littered with a series of saved pars. But three bogeys saw him settle for a 74 that left him precariously close to missing the weekend in Paris. Bhullar’s was most terrifying effort among the three golfers in action.
The Kapurthala man made four birdies, but was forced to sign a bleeding card. Bhullar made bogeys at the 6th and 18th besides a double and quadruple in the round to slip to 75. He is almost certain to miss the cut, unless he is able to resurrect his fortunes with an effort in the 60s on Friday.
The day though belonged to Stadler. The American made a hat-trick of birdies from the 10th through 12th as he burnt the back nine in just 31 strokes. His bogey free effort saw him take a one stroke lead over Siem. The German had eight birdies, but two bogeys including one on the final hole saw him drop one below Stadler.
Graeme McDowell’s hopes of defending his title suffered a blow when he only mustered a 70 to lay six strokes off the pace. US Open champion, Martin Kaymer gave away three strokes in the first two holes but recovered to settle for a one over 72.
Reporting by Anand Datla
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