Atwal struggles, Chopra slightly better at Canadian Open

Ancaster, Ontario, Sep 8 (UNI) Arjun Atwal continued to struggle with his form and even a late recovery did not help his cause as he carded a disappointing two-over 72 to be tied for the 110th spot, while Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra managed a modest one-under 69 to share the 47th spot after the opening round of the 6250000 dollar Canadian Open here.

Both Atwal and Chopra had missed the cut in last week's Deustche Bank Golf Championships after disastrous performances and prospects are again looking bleak for Atwal.

The Orlando-based Indian squandered a good start and went from bad to worse before recovering towards the end. He started off with consecutive birdies on the fourth and fifth but the slide that followed left him in a precarious position.

The Indian stumbled to a double-bogey on the sixth and a hat-trick of bogeys from seventh to ninth added to his woes as he made the turn at three-over.

His backward journey was going level-par until he hit a bogey on the 14th to make it four-over. Atwal, then regained his touch to gain two successive shots on the 16th and 17th but the recovery came a bit too late as he ended the day two-over at the scenic Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Meanwhile, Chopra had a slightly better day as he fired in four birdies against three bogeys. The Swede was off to a good start with birdies on the second and fourth before hitting a bogey on the eighth. However, he managed to make the turn at two-under after sinking in a birdie on the ninth.

His back nine started on a disastrous note as he stumbled to back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th but he arrested the slide with a birdie on the 15th to end the day on a satisfactory note.

At the top, American Jim Furyk and Canadian Justin Rose held the lead after firing identical cards of the seven-under 63. Furyk's compatriots Brandt Jobe and Frank Lickliter II and Australian Nathan Green were tied for the third spot after rounds of 64.

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