Randhawa tied 9th, Jeev tied 37th at Scottish Open

Loch Lomond, Scotland, July 14 (UNI) Jyoti Randhawa, for once, stole the limelight from Jeev Milkha Singh (71) as he carded an impressive three-under 68 to be tied for the ninth spot after the opening round of the 2.4 million pound Scottish Open here.

Randhawa gave a sizzling display as he fired six birdies against a bogey and a double-bogey to be just three shots off the pace of leaders Sweden's Johan Edfors and Scot David Drysdale.

Jeev, meanwhile, was on the tied 37th spot after a hat-trick of bogeys in the back-nine spoiled his otherwise good performance.

Randhawa was definitely the brighter of the two Indian stars at the event as he fired four birdies -- including three consecutive -- in his front nine as against a solitary bogey to start off brilliantly.

Three-under at the halfway mark, Randhawa could have improved further -- especially after gaining a shot on the 10th -- but a double-bogey on the 11th pulled him back.

He made up for the lapse with a birdie on the 17th end the day in a position of strength.

Jeev, however, would be disappointed with his performance in the back nine. The seasoned pro was going steady after a blemishfree front nine -- studded with two birdies -- but blew up the good start in his backward journey in which he fumbled thrice in a row from 15th to 17th.

A brace of birdies on the 13th and 14th before that saved him from going over-par.

At the top of the leaderboard, Edfors and Drysdale have a single shot lead over Nothern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Englishman Miles Tunnicliff.

UNI XC PM SHB RS1100