New Delhi, Aug 27: The four member Indian team departs for Australia today without Asian Games gold medallist Shiv Kapur to participate in the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateur Golf Championship for the Nomura Cup to be held in Port Douglas, Queensland from September 2.
Kapur would leave for the championship after the Arjuna Awards ceremony on August 29, a release from the Indian Golf Union said here yesterday.

The other members of the team include Simarjeet Singh, Vikrant Chopra, Keshav Misra and team manager S S Dugal.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kumar made six birdies in his round of 69. After opening with a birdie, he was high in confidence. However, on the seventh, he found the water tank on the right and was lucky to get away with a bogey after taking a drop.
He three-putted on the 10th for a bogey while making birdies on the 8th, 11th, 15th and 17th. But for the bogey on the finishing hole where he was in front of the bunker wall, the Lucknow pro would have enjoyed sole lead.



Shiv Prakash made four birdies of which the birdie on the par-3 eighth was the pick of the lot. Hitting just short of the green, the Kanpur-based pro chipped in from 15 feet. His other birdies came on the first, fifth, and 13th.



The lone bogey on the par-4 17th where he two-putted from four feet. B Gurunath of Chennai led the amateur field with a total of four-over 76 while Abhishek Ahlawat and Hitesh Joshi were four strokes behind the leader.


Bureau Report