Jeev tied eighth after first round in Paris

Paris: Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh carded a steady three-under 68 in the first round to be placed tied eighth at the Alstom Open de France at the par-71 Le Golf National near Paris.

Jeev was four shots behind leader Sweden`s Christian Nilsson, who shot a six-under 65 on the course that will host the 2018 Ryder Cup. Things were not too good for the other two Indians in the fray, as Shiv Kapur (72) was tied 63rd and SSP Chowrasia (74) was way behind in 104th place. Jeev opened with a bogey on first but got a shot back with a birdie on third. Bogeys on fourth and seventh meant he was two-over but once again the Indian fought back with birdies on eighth and ninth to turn in even par. He surged ahead with three birdies in four holes from 11th to the 14th. However, his progress was halted by a bogey on the 16th which was compensated for with a birdie on 17th. Jeev made nine of the 14 fairways and had 12 greens in regulation, but he had problems when he missed greens in regulation. Kapur had two birdies and three bogeys, while Chowrasia had two birdies and five bogeys. PTI