Hong Kong: Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee, desperately needing a good finish to secure his 2009 Asian Tour card, opened with a two-under 68 that placed him at tied 16th on the first day of the UBS Hong Kong Open here Thursday.

Gangjee was the best Indian and was four strokes behind joint leaders Chinese star Liang Wen-Chong and South Africa's Richard Sterne who fired matching six-under-par 64s at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Among other Indians, Amandeep Johl (70) was tied 47th while Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei were all tied 73rd with one-over 71. Shiv Kapur (72) in tied 100th and Digvijay Singh (73) in 117th, Arjun Atwal and S. S. P. Chowrasia with 74 each in 125th place were way behind and need some good second round scores to make the cut.

Jeev, winner of the $5 million Singapore Open last week, started with two bogeys on first two holes. He picked birdies on third and eighth and again dropped a bogey on 14th. "I missed a few putts and also felt a little tired," he said. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain shot a 71 and was among those in 73rd place.

Liang, who was the 2007 Asian Tour s Order of Merit winner, nailed seven birdies against a lone bogey while Sterne holed a birdie on the 17th hole to share the lead. Chinese Taipei s Lin Wen-tang fired a 65 and was tied third alongside Filipino Frankie Minoza in the $2.5 million event.

Source : IANS