Honey Baisoya lying second in China, one shot behind leader

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Henan (China): Honey Baisoya fired a 5-under 67 in the first round to lie Tied-second in the Asia-Pacific Classic at St Andrews Golf Club on Thursday.

Baisoya, one of the young stars in Indian golf with six wins in last two and a half years on the Indian PGTI Tour, had six birdies against one bogey.

Baisoya, 27, had a great streak of five birdies in a span of six holes starting from 10th.

Baisoya is among of a group of 11 players with matching 67s to share second place.

Other Indians in the field are S Chikkarangappa (72) in T-57 and further behind are Viraj Madappa (76) and Himmat Rai (78).

"I'm feeling great about the tournament. I was quite frustrated in the beginning, as I was one-over-par after three holes. I missed a short putt on the second hole. Then, I hit my tee shot into the hazard at the third hole and made a good bogey. At that point, I gave myself a target of five-under-par, so I'm happy to have achieved that," Baisoya said.

"It was a good bogey because I managed to find my ball in the left hazard. I chipped it out but missed the green from there, about 125 yards. I got the ball to around five feet. The putt caught the hole and it just went in.

"On the fourth hole, I made a par when I could have easily bogeyed it. After the birdie on the fifth hole, everything came into place. I'm feeling great going into round two as I have a good score. If I play well again tomorrow, then I can surely get into contention."

Andrew Martin of Australia shot an opening six-under-par 66 to top a crowded leaderboard. The 33-year-old had a commendable front nine, carding four birdies against a lone bogey before turning in 32.

Martin scored two more birdies before signing for a 66 for a one-shot lead.