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Young golfing guns blaze at Volvo Masters of Asia

Young guns Shiv Kapur of India and Australian Andrew Buckle came to the fore in the Volvo Masters of Asia, the Asian Tour's grand finale, with matching six-under-par 66s for the first round lead yesterday.

The 23-year-old Kapur, enjoying a solid rookie year, fired eight birdies against two bogeys at the spectacular Thai Country Club while Buckle, also 23, was blemish-free with six birdies on the card.

Thailand's Prom Meesawat, an upcoming 21-year-old, fired 67 thanks to a hot putter as he led the local charge in the 600,000 event, which will see the crowning of the Asian Tour Order of Merit winner on Sunday.

Current merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand opened his campaign with a roller-coaster 71 while compatriot Thongchai Jaidee, the only man who can pip Thaworn, battled to a 70 that included six birdies against four bogeys, for tied 13th place.

Thongchai must finish no lower than second place if he is to have any chance of retaining his Order of Merit title.

Title holder Jyoti Randhawa of India kept himself within reach of the leaders, shooting a 70.

But it was Randhawa's compatriot Kapur who underlined his growing reputation with a superb finish where he birdied four of his last five holes.

"I've got to keep my foot down on the accelerator and keep going. I hope to carry my momentum all the way through," Kapur said.

Kapur was two under through 13 holes before finishing his day in style. He rolled in a 15-foot putt on 14, nailed a wedge to three feet on 15, drained another 15-footer on 17 and rolled in another putt from 10 feet at the last hole.

The young Indian is enjoying a rich vein of form after notching four straight top-10s recently, including a play-off defeat in the Double A International Open in Thailand last month.

Buckle, sixth on the Order of Merit with two top-three finishes this season, was almost sleep-walking his way round to an impressive start. He arrived from the US on Wednesday following a 20-hour trip after missing out on a US PGA Tour card by two strokes at Qualifying School and did not have the benefit of a practice round.

"I was in a bit of a daze, not much of a chance to think about what I was doing. I just went out there and played well," said Buckle, a former Australian amateur champion.

"I was a little disappointed missing out in the US but I really wanted to play here so that is why I made the effort to come," he said.

Buckle started strongly by converting birdie putts of 15 feet and 30 feet in his opening two holes, and went on to snare four more birdies, including a 25-footer on the eighth.

He credited his local caddy for reading the lines. "She read the putts on the first two holes and they went in and then I just used her to read the putts all the way round," Buckle said.

Thaworn is looking to wrap up his record-breaking year on a high note -- he has won four times and earned over 500,000 in winnings, both a record in Asian Tour history.
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