Rahil Gangjee moves to tied eighth place in China Open

Beijing, Apr 13 (UNI) Rahil Gangjee shot up to the eighth place after an impressive four-under 68 while a treble of double bogeys marred Shiv Kapur's opening round in the 1.8 million dollar Volvo China Open here today.

Eyeing a rare double Asian Tour crown, Shiv - a 10th tee starter -- struggled on the Honghua International Golf Club course and dropped double bogeys on the 11th, 15th and 18th holes and it looked bleak for the talented Indian who managed a couple of birdies on the 16th and 17th holes.

Shiv, however, had a bogey-free back nine and he fired birdies on the second, third and seventh for his one-over 73 for the tied 67th place.

Kolkata pro Rahil was in brilliant form and could have ended even higher but for occasional hiccups.

After birdies on the second and ninth holes, Rahil fired five more during his backward journey but bogeys on the fourth, eighth and 18th pulled him back and he was two-stroke adrift of of leader Christian Cevaer (66).

Jeev Mikha Singh's level-par round earned him the 47th place, while seasoned Gaurav Ghei went two-over 74, one-stroke ahead of compatriot Amandeep Johl, followed by Harmeet Kahlon (76).

Frenchman Cevaer's error-free round included six birdies -- three in each nine.

UNI XC AY PDS GC1608