Winner of the Volvo Masters of Asia title last weekend, Shiv Kapur did not have a great opening round, carding a one-over 72, to finish tied 42nd after first round in the Japan Okinawa Open in Okinawa on Thursday.
The Gaurav Ghei-Amandeep Johl duo was the pick of the Indian contingent after their identical round of two-under 69 for the tied ninth place, while Fijian Dinesh Chand and local sensation Kaname Yokoo fired six-under 65 to share the opening day's glory at the Naha Golf Club, in the opening leg of the 2006 season for both the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
Shiv was not in his elements as he dropped seven bogeys, including three consecutive ones in five, six and seven before bailing himself out with a quartet of birdies besides an eagle on the 10th hole.
Johl had a bogey-free front nine with two birdies. On his way back, the Chandigarh-based golfer stumbled on couple of bogeys but he overcame the setback with two more birdies to return two-under 69.
A little bit of consistency could have seen Gaurav Ghei higher in the leaderboard but the Indian managed two-under 69 after a round which was peppered with six birdies, one bogey and two double bogeys.
Among his compatriots, Rahil Gangjee and Jeev Milkha Singh had identical level-par rounds for the tied 26th place while Arjun Singh struggled to a three-over 74 to finish tied 74th.
Japan's woman golf sensation Ai Miyazato, playing on a sponsor's invite, stumbled with an 80 in cold and windy conditions.
Leading first round scores: 65 - Dinesh Chand (FIJ), Kaname Yokoo (JPN) 66 - Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN) 67 - Kenichi Kuboya (JPN) 68 - Chris Campbell (AUS), Jason Knutzon (USA), Richard Moir (AUS), Kiyoshi Miyazato (JPN) 69 - Ryuichi Oda (JPN), Amandeep Johl (IND), Tommy Nakajima (JPN), Gaurav Ghei (IND), Tomohiro Kondo (JPN), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 70 - Tsuyoshi Yoneyama (JPN), Marcus Both (AUS), Prom Meesawat (THA), Tadahiro Takayama (JPN), Prayad Marksaeng (THA), Shinichi Akiba (JPN), Unho Park (AUS), Takashi Kanemoto (JPN), Scott Strange (AUS), Katsumasa Miyamoto (JPN), Makoto Inoue (JPN).
