Himmat tied 4th after Rd 1 at Black Mountain Masters

Hua Hin: Indian golfer Himmat Rai kept his hopes alive of securing the 2011 Asian tour card by

posting a sparkling six-under 66 to lie tied fourth after the opening round of the USD 600,000 Black Mountain Masters golf tournament here on Thursday. Himmat, who needs a top five finish here to secure his card, sank as many as eight birdies against two bogeys to stay just one stroke behind the leading trio of Tetsuji Hiratsuka and Daisuke Maruyama of Japan and Angelo Que of Phillipines. 2008 Emaar-MGF Indian Masters winner SSP Chowrasia also had a good day at the greens as he brought home a five-under 67 to lie tied 10th. However, Shiv Kapur, who won the Volvo Masters in Bangkok in 2005, and Anirban Lahiri had a tough time at the Black Mountain Golf Club and are in danger of missing out on the cut. Kapur and Lahiri scored a matching one-over 73 in the first round to share the 85th spot, two strokes adrift of the cut line which has been decided at one-under. Himmat didn`t have the best of starts as he stumbled on the first hole but the Delhi golfer made amends by picking up a birdie hat-trict from the fourth to the sixth holes to take the turn at two-under. On resumption, the 23-year-old Rai birdied the 10th hole but a bogey at the 13th pulled him back a bit. However, Himmat sank as many as four birdies in the last five holes to end the day on a high. "I`ve been hitting it pretty solid and putting well and when you do that you will play well. I had a good drive up 17 just near the green and had an easy up-and-down," he said. His senior pro, Chowrasia also had a satisfying front nine as he picked up strokes at the second, third, sixth and eighth to be four-under at the turn. But a couple of bogeys at the 11th and 12th holes undid the good work before the Kolkata golfer decided to pull things back with three birdies on the 13th, 15th and 18th holes. Rising Indian golfer Rai is yet to win a Asian Tour event. He had three top-20 finishes on Asian Tour and three second places on Indian Tour this year. "I`ve been playing consistently well and this year has really been a learning curve for me. I`m just sticking to what I know best and maintain my form," said Rai, whose third-place finish at the Iskandar Johor Open in 2009 remains his best on Asian tour. "We all know how it is at the moment and everyone who are not in are trying to get into the top-61 but the most important thing is to focus on what has to be done. This is just another tournament and I`m going to try and play my best four rounds," said Rai, who is placed 75th on the Order of Merit. PTI