Kapur gets off to a flying start in Qatar

India's Shiv Kapur used a putting tip from his caddie to devastating effect as he fired a superb five-under-par 67 to lie two shots off the early lead after the first round of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters on Thursday.

Kapur, 25, stormed home with an inward 31 at the challenging Doha Golf Club and trails South African star Retief Goosen, who soared into the lead in the US$2.2 million event with an oustanding 65.

Defending champion Henrik Stenson overcame a sluggish start to shoot a 68, matched by American Edward Michaels, who is playing in his first tournament in more than a year following a shoulder injury.

India's Jeev Milkha Singh, the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit winner last year, enjoyed a bogey-free 69. Singapore's Mardan Mamat and Korea's Suk Jong-yul, both winners in Asia last season, carded matching 69s as well.

Kapur, rookie of the year in 2005, showed he has overcome the hangover of a final round collapse at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship last week with a seven-birdie display at the Doha layout.

"Last week, I struck the ball solidly but couldn't putt. My caddie Neeraj then gave me some good advice yesterday and said to just putt like when I was 10 years old and I said yeah, you're right. He said I was such a good putter when I was a kid. He said I never concentrated on the stroke or line and just stood there and made everything. That seems to have worked today," said Kapur.

"The first part of my round, I was unsettled. I kept making birdies and bogeys and I couldn't find any rhythm. I was hitting it average but I was putting it well.

"On the 15th (Kapur started from the back nine), I hit my second shot into the water but I made a 40-footer for bogey which kind of got my round going. After that, I hit a lot of shots close and made a few good putts. Anytime I hit my putts well, the game seems easy," he added.

The Indian rising star was disappointed with his finish last week where he entered the final round just one off the pace but stumbled with a closing 75. But Kapur believes that he will benefit greatly from the experience and that a maiden European Tour triumph is around the corner.

"If you keep putting yourself in that position and if you keep knocking on the door, you'll learn from it. I took the positives out of it and played three solid rounds. I rather put myself in that position and drop out rather than be in the middle of the pack. If I can keep knocking, I'll keep learning from it and hopefully don't fall off on Sunday," he said.

"I got over it on Monday morning. Usually, I'm pretty hard on myself. I don't let things slip by easily but I took the positives out of there. I was playing well and it was one bad round out of four. I think I'll use it in a positive way and see if I can get back at them this week."

Although he finished eighth on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit and earned his playing rights in Europe last season, Kapur took a bold decision to work with a new swing coach in the United States in December.

"I didn't play well at the Volvo Masters of Asia (last month) where I was defending and after the final round I figured I needed to make some changes to my swing. Normally I'm very reluctant to make changes because I like to go out there and play with what I've got.

"I saw Peter Murphy in Dallas and he made a few changes to my swing and it seems to be working out. But I've got to keep working at it as I know I haven't quite got into the groove yet. I have to work hard over the next couple of months to get it where I want it to be."