Vijay Kumar at joint lead; decent beginning for Randhawa, Ghei

New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) Vijay Kumar's scorching six-under 66 had him tied for the top slot, along with Scotsman Simon Dunn, while both Jyoti Randhawa and Gaurav Ghei had a decent start to their campaign in the first round of the 400,000 dollar Hero Honda Indian Open here today.

Conditions at the Delhi Golf Club were not easy after a surprising morning drizzle which resulted in a two-hour delay, due to which 66 players could not complete their round.

Vijay, who won the title at the same venue in 2002, was hardly purturbed by conditions as was reflected from his round, while Dunn enjoyed a blemish free round.

Vijay kicked off with a birdie -- a five-foot chip -- and signed off in the same style and the bogey on the penultimate hole -- when he missed an eight-foot putt -- was the lone blot in his sparkling round, which included seven birdies, besides the bogey.

''I did not really go for birdies as such and wanted to post a decent total. I used the driver only four times -- on the first, third, 10th and 18th. I was happy with my second shot and putting was good too.

''My longest birdie was from 15 feet on the 18th hole and it was great to start and end with birdie,'' he added.

Vivek Bhandari was tied seventh with a round of 68.

Among others, Jyoti Randhawa returned a card of three-under 69 to be tied 12th, mixing four birdies with the lone bogey that came in the ninth hole -- his final -- as he ended on a disapppointing note.

Hot favourite Englishman Simon Dyson, who had two wins in Europe this year, returned four-under 68 to tie for the seventh place, while defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant stuttered to a nightmarish four-over 76 to finish way down at tied 103rd.

Gaurav Ghei, who finished second in the last edition -- best by an Indian -- kept it under control and was tied 32nd after his opening round of 71.

Shiv Kapur, a 10th tee starter, returned two-over 74 and was visibly upset after dropping two shots on the par-five final hole.

His round also included a birdie and a bogey.

''Far from a perfect start, it was a terrible outing. I guess this was one of those bad days in the office and my putting was just not good. Conditions were not easy but that applies to everyone.

''I'll have to start it afresh tomorrow and I'll go into the course with a positive attitude,'' Kapur told UNI.

Leading first round scores: 66 - Vijay Kumar (IND), Simon Dunn (SCO) 67 - Suk Jong-yul (KOR), Scott Strange (AUS), Michael Wright (AUS) Brad Iles (NZL) 68 - Rick Gibson (CAN), Simon Dyson (ENG), Prom Meesawat (THA) Vivek Bhandari (IND) 69 - Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Chiragh Kumar [A] (IND), S S P Chowrasia (IND), Chapchai Nirat (THA), Jyoti Randhawa (IND), Yasin Ali (ENG) 70 - Yusuf Ali (IND), Mukesh Kumar (IND), Mahal Pearce (NZL), Pat Giles (AUS), Muhammed Munir (PAK), Firoz Ali (IND), Harinder Gupta (IND) 71 - Mark Mouland (WAL), Gaurav Ghei (IND), Digvijay Singh (IND), Tony Carolan (AUS), David Gleeson (AUS), R Srinivas (IND), Barry Hume (SCO), Mohd Islam (IND) 72 - Jochen Lupprian (GER), Naman Dawer (IND), Park Jun-won (KOR) 73 - Rafiq Ali (IND), Mike Cunning (USA), Scott Barr (AUS), Gaurav Diwan (IND) UNI AY PM BST1921