Shiv Kapur fires 65 to take lead

Shiv Kapur fired a near-perfect round of 7-under 65 to take a slender one-stroke lead in the opening round of the RCGC Open held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Mohammed Islam of Bihar occupied the second position with a bogey-free 6-under 66 while three-time Order of Merit winner on the PGAI Tour Mukesh Kumar was placed third after a well crafted round of 4-under 68.

The RCGC Open makes up the eleventh leg on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour and the first of the two back-to-back events being played in the metropolis.

Kapur, fresh from his second triumph on the Amby Valley PGAI Tour at the Surya Nepal Masters in Kathmandu, started on the back-nine today and wasted no time to get into overdrive.

He birdied the 10th, 12th, 16th and 17th to make the turn at 4-under 32. Kapur recovered quickly after dropping his only shot of the day on par-4 third and birdied the par-5 fourth and par-4 eighth to turn in a nearly flawless card of 65.

Islam's first birdie came on the par-5 fourth. His only other birdie on the front nine came on the par-4 sixth as he reached the turn at 2-under 34.

On the back nine, with birdies on the 10th, 11th, 14th and 15th, Islam finished with an 18-hole aggregate of 6-under 66.

Kumar showed consistency after a less impressive start and birdied the 4th, 11th, 15th, 16th and 18th for a well managed 68.