Kapur & Buckle top leaderboard

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 on Thursday.

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 a 67, thanks to a hot putter as he led the local charge in the US$600,000 Volvo Masters of Asia, 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 striking reach of the leaders, shooting a 70.

But it was Randhawa's compatriot, Kapur who once again 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," said Kapur.

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. He was also in contention in the Volvo China Open recently before fading in the final round and Kapur is determined to enjoy a career breakthrough at the Volvo Masters of Asia, which is exclusive to the top-60 players on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

"Losing in the play-off hurt but I got over it and I don't think much of it. I'm sure I will feel the pressure. I think I'll feed off the good finishes which gave me added confidence," said Kapur, who is currently 18th on the merit list.

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 United States 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."

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," beamed Buckle.

A hot putting streak propelled the burly Prom into the frame. He needed only 23 putts to overcome an errant driver. Saying that he is only a "few putts away" from a first Asian Tour title, Prom revealed that a switch to an old favourite putter was the key to his low round.

"I've changed back to my old putter, the one I used in the 2002 Asian Games. It's a lighter putter which suits these fast greens. I putted really well," said Prom. "I didn't hit my driver well but I holed a long putt on 11 and that was the turning point. I made a lot of good putts on the back nine and took only 11 putts. It's a good start and I think I have a chance to try for my first win," said Prom, whose best finish on Tour was a third place in the Indian Open.

Thongchai endured a topsy-turvy day as he bids to win a record third merit title and prevent Thaworn from a first. He was disappointed to finish his day with a bogey, after hooking his drive into the punishing rough that lines the Thai Country Club's immaculate fairways.

"It was a good bogey at the end as I made a good chip for my third shot. I played alright but somehow struggled on the back nine. Two under is not bad and I still have a chance to challenge for the title," said the former paratrooper.

Thaworn is looking to wrap up his record-breaking year on a high note - he has won four times and earned over US$500,000 in winnings, both a record in Asian Tour history. He turned in 34 with birdies on the second and fourth holes before recovering from a run of three dropped shots with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes.

"It was difficult round and I found the greens to be very firm. I thought the course was playing difficult and I was disappointed to finish one-under," said Thaworn.

Leading first round scores

66 - Shiv Kapur ( IND ), Andrew Buckle (AUS)

67 - Prom Meesawat (THA)

68 - Adam Fraser (AUS), Anthony Kang ( USA ), Thammanoon Srirot (THA), Ted Oh (KOR)

69 - Richard Moir (AUS), Gary Simpson (AUS), Marcus Both (AUS), Chawalit Plaphol (THA), Terry Pilkadaris (AUS)

70 - Jason Knutzon (USA), Ron Won (USA), Boonchu Ruangkit (THA), Mahal Pearce (NZL), Frankie Minoza (PHI), Scott Strange (AUS), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Jyoti Randhawa (IND)

71 - Edward Michaels (USA), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Chapchai Nirat (THA), Kang Wook-soon (KOR), Wang Ter-chang (TPE), Simon Yates (SCO), Lu Wen-teh (TPE), Edward Loar (USA), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA)

72 - Bryan Saltus (USA), Adam Groom (AUS), Angelo Que (PHI), Gaurav Ghei (IND), Zhang Lian-wei (CHN), Prayad Marksaeng (THA)

73 - Danny Chia (MAS), Adam Blyth (AUS), Harmeet Kahlon (IND), Unho Park (AUS), Lu Wei-chih (TPE), Richard Lee (NZL), Rick Gibson (CAN), Lin Keng-chi (TPE)

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