Dubai, Feb 4 (IANS) Jeev Milkha Singh playing his first competitive round since he became a proud father last month, made it a memorable one with a solid four-under 68 that gave him a share in the six-way lead at the end of the first round of the Omega Dubai Classic Golf tournament Thursday.
Jeev, who began with a birdie on second gave that back on the fifth and was even par till the eighth. Then he struck a purple patch with four birdies in a row from ninth to 12th and closed with six pars in a row for 68.

“I left a few shots out there, but felt good about my game,” said Jeev, who shares the lead with Rory McIlroy, Stephen Dodd, Edoardo Molinari, Alexander Noren and Charl Schwartzel, the current leader in the Race to Dubai standings.

The other Indians had a disappointing day.

Shiv Kapur with five birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey scored 74 in tied 61st place. Jyoti Randhawa with two double bogeys in his 75 was 82nd and Arjun Atwal (77) was 109th. SSP Chowrasia also shot a 77 and Anirban Lahiri playing on a sponsor’s invite shot a 78 to be 120th and will need a brilliant round to stay in the tournament over the weekend.