Lyle leads Open qualifying with 67

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Lyle leads Open qualifying with 67

Leukaemia-survivor Jarrod Lyle of Australia took a giant leap towards The Open Championship after carding a five-under-par 67 in the opening round of the International Final Qualifying – Asia on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Lyle fired five birdies and one eagle at Sentosa Golf Club's award winning par-72 Serapong course to lead by one stroke from compatriot and Singapore-based Unho Park, who enjoyed six birdies en route to a 68.

Indian duo Shiv Kapur and Jeev Milkha Singh stayed within striking reach of a maiden appearance at The Open with matching 69s. The top-three finishers after 36 holes will qualify for The Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England from July 20-23.

Japan's Soushi Tajima battled to a 70 and was matched by Australian Richard Moir, who featured in The Open at St Andrews last year. Korea's Lee Sung, who was born deaf, Chinese Taipei's Chang Tse-peng and Aussie duo Scott Barr and Adam Le Vesconte kept their Open dreams alive with 71s.

The burly Lyle overcame leukaemia in 1999 when he was confined to a hospital bed for nine months and is now relishing a new lease of life. He enjoyed a terrific rookie year on the Asian Tour last season with two second-place finishes and posted two top-five outings on the Australasian Tour recently.

His strong start at the magnificent Serapong course was highlighted by a terrific eagle at the fourth hole from five feet. "Today was good. I played really solid. Holed a few putts and despite making a few bogeys out there, I was just solid at the back and made a few birdies coming in. I'm just stoked with the round," said Lyle.

"The key was that I was driving it well and getting into position and hitting greens. If you put all that together, you're going to hole putts and not make bogeys. The eagle on four was nice. I hit a solid four wood to five feet and that got my round going."

The smooth-swinging Park is one of the most colourful players on the Asian Tour with his liking for luminous clothes but hopes to make his bigger name for himself with a maiden major appearance. Decked in yellow and green, the Korean-born Park enjoyed matching halves of 34s to stay in the race to Royal Liverpool.

"I’m really happy with it. Three putted twice which was the only downfall but that's golf. Overall it was pretty good. I just need to be calm tomorrow. In the tournaments that I've played this year, I've done well over the first two rounds but washed up a little bit over the weekend. But because this is a two-rounder, I'm thinking like I'll have a good chance at qualifying. The Open qualifying is a big event and a great opportunity to get to a major," said the 32-year-old Park.

Kapur, last year’s Asian Tour rookie of the year and presently eighth on the UBS Order of Merit, played his way into position but was disappointed to leave shots on the course, missing putts of six feet on 11 and 13.

"Those are the kind of putts you want to make," lamented Kapur. "I left a lot of shots out there. I'm disappointed. I'm not scoring as well as I should be. My game feels fine and I'm refreshed mentally after enjoying two weeks off. However, I'm still in the hunt which is important.

"It's a two-round race and I've got to go out tomorrow and fire away. There are a lot of birdie chances out there. I'll try to go out and finish the job. It's a matter of getting one millimetre more accurate with the putter," said Kapur.

Singapore's home hero Mardan Mamat struggled to a 73 after a roller-coaster day that included five birdies against six bogeys. "It's just a bad day in the office. The way I hit the ball, I'm lucky to shoot a 73. It was nice to birdie the 18th which sort of kept me in with a small chance but I've got to go really low tomorrow."

Australian Terry Pilkadaris, meanwhile, was disqualified after realising that he had carried 15 clubs in his bag, which was one club more than the permitted number under the rules of golf. He had signed for a 72 before realising his error after leaving the score recorder's hut.

First round scores

67: Jarrod Lyle (Aus)

68: Unho Park (Aus)

69: Shiv Kapur (Ind), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind)

70: Richard Moir (Aus), Soushi Tajima (Jpn)

71: Scott Barr (Aus), Lee Sung (Kor), Adam Le Vesconte (Aus), Chang Tse-peng (Tpe)

72: Bryan Saltus (USA), Yeh Wei-tze (Tpe), Marcus Both (Aus)

73: Jochen Lupprian (Ger), Akinori Tani (Jpn), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Amandeep Johl (Ind), Scott Strange (Aus)

74: Yoshinobu Tsukada (Jpn)

75: Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Jason Dawes (Aus), Corey Harris (USA), Angelo Que (Phi)

76: Sushi Ishigaki (Jpn), Andrew Buckle (Aus)

77: Kyi Hla Han (Myn), Rahil Gangjee (Ind)