IT AIN'T HALF HOT, MUM! - BUT
MARK FOSTER GETS BACK
IN THE GROOVE IN INDIA

Mark Foster put his poor recent results on the European Tour behind him, moving into contention at the Johnnie Walker Classic with a four-under-par 68 on the opening day.
The Worksop-born 32-year-old, who has failed to make the cut in his last three European Tour events, found himself in a four-way tie for second after the morning session at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, near Delhi.
He was one shot behind clubhouse leaders Shamim Khan, of India, and Daniel Vancsik, of Argentina. Starting on the front nine, Foster birdied the third, fifth, sixth and eighth to move to four under after nine holes.
He bogeyed the 10th after a bad drive but picked up another birdie with a 10-foot putt at the 14th to join James Kamte, of South Africa, Greg Chalmers, of Australia, and Dutchman Robert-Jan Derkson on four under.
"It was good scoring for the first day," said Foster. "It's very warm out there and it's not that easy because the course is playing firm and tricky but it's a good score to start the week.
"I played really good golf on the front nine. I had birdie chances on seven of the nine holes and the four under could have been even a little better. I struggled on my way in on the back nine but still played OK."
Vancsik made an eagle at his final hole of the day, the ninth, to move to five under after a round that also included five birdies and two bogeys and he was joined on that mark by Khan, who made the fifth birdie of a bogey-free round on his final hole.
World number 11 Vijay Singh is within striking distance of the leaders after making three birdies on his back nine to finish his opening round on two under while Colin Montgomerie is at two over after an up-and-down round that featured two birdies and four bogeys.
Meanwhile, Ian Poulter has plenty of work to do on Friday to survive the cut after carding a four-over 76.

ASIAN TOUR PRESS RELEASE REPORT

Unheralded Shamim Khan of India upstaged some of the biggest names in golf to grab a share of the first round lead at the Johnnie Walker Classic today.
The 28-year-old Khan fired a sparkling five-under-par 67 at DLF Golf and Country Club and set up the possibility of becoming the second Indian winner of a major tournament on home soil in the past month.
The slightly-built Indian was joined atop the leaderboard by Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik, who carded six birdies against a lone bogey in the US$2.5 million event dubbed the Asia Pacific’s premier golf tournament.
Khan’s stunning performance marked a memorable first day for the Indian contingent as Jeev Milkha Singh, the Asian Tour’s number one in 2006, ended the day in a share of third place alongside compatriot Rahil Gangjee and nine other players following a 68 while US-based Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur and Arjun Singh were a further stroke back.
Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Liang Wen-chong of China also enjoyed a solid start when he overcame a double bogey for a 69.
The marquee names at the Johnnie Walker Classic endured mixed days. World number five Adam Scott of Australia battled into the mix with a 68 and could have led on his own if not for a double bogey on his 16th hole when he sprayed his tee shot into the water.
Three-time Major champion Vijay Singh of Fiji carded a 70 but Europe’s Ryder Cup stars Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and England’s Ian Poulter struggled with a 74 and 76 respectively.
The day however belonged to Khan. “I’m really happy that in such a star-studded field, I’m at the top of the leaderboard. I can’t explain it in words,” said a beaming Khan.
Three weeks ago, S.S.P. Chowrasia secured a life-changing victory at the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters which served as an inspiration for the likes of Khan. Like Chowrasia, Khan is also a former caddie and plies his trade on the domestic circuit where he has won once.
He took only 24 putts on the tricky DLF greens, holing from long range on the 11th and 16th holes and enjoyed a chip-in birdie as well on the seventh. If he continues to wield his putter like a magic wand, Khan’s world could well change this week. “My putting was very good. I took only 24 putts and I drove it good as well,” said Khan.
“S.S.P. is an old friend of mine. I have been inspired by his recent victory. It has set the tone for us to do well in the international events that come to India. I’m concentrating on my game and will take it one step at a time.”
Vancsik, part of an exciting quartet of Argentine players who triumphed on the European Tour last season, continued to show his growing prowess as he shot up the leaderboard with some wonderful play.
“I have been working hard since the end of the season. I have worked with my coach and psychology for this year and I feel very well. Every player in Argentina feels more confident after what happened last year,” said Vancsik.
The tournament’s favourite, Scott, was left ruing a poor tee shot on the 16th which prevented him from taking a firm grip of the Johnnie Walker Classic. However, he managed to draw on the positives from his day in the office.
“One poor shot but I don’t think that it really spoiled the round. I was very pleased with everything,” said Scott, who was cruising at five under through 15 holes before his late mishap. “I got off to a good start, kept myself right in the tournament. I need to go out tomorrow morning and try and put a number on the board and get the guys to start chasing it.”
Jeev soared to the top of the leaderboard momentarily but late bogeys prevented him from taking the sole lead. He missed a short par putt on the 16th and found the hazard on 17th hole. “It’s a good test of golf,” said Singh of the Arnold Palmer-designed course. “I played solid for 15 holes but caught a couple of bad breaks.”
World number 11 Vijay failed to come to grips with the tricky DLF greens as he shot three birdies against two bogeys. “It was very disappointing. I hit the ball really good but didn’t putt particularly well and threw away a few shots. I must have hit five or six loose shots out there. Two under is under par but it’s very disappointing,” said Singh.
“The greens are very hard to putt on. They are very grainy and to read the grains is half the problem. It really helps having local knowledge,” he added.
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FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD

67 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Shamim Khan (Ind)
68 Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Adam Scott (Aus), Greg Chalmers (Aus), Unho Park (Aus), Jason Knutzon (USA), Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn), Mark Foster, James Kamte (Rsa), Paul Sheehan (Aus)
69 Shiv Kapur (Ind), Arjun Singh (Ind), Soren Hansen (Den), Anthony Summers (Aus), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Adam Bland (Aus), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), Arjun Atwal (Ind), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Adam Blyth (Aus)
70 Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Prom Meesawat (Tha), Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai), James Nitties (Aus), Graeme Storm, Won Joon Lee (Aus), Vijay Singh (Fij), Michael Long (Nzl), Iain Steel (Mal), Digvijay Singh (Ind), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
71 Anton Haig (Rsa), James Kingston (Rsa), Scott Strange (Aus), Simon Yates, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Peter Senior (Aus), Simon Griffiths, Johan Edfors (Swe), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Tony Carolan (Aus), Scott Barr (Aus), Mark Brown (Nzl), Marcus Fraser (Aus)
72 Matthew Millar (Aus), Andrew Tampion (Aus), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Oliver Wilson, Pelle Edberg (Swe), Peter Hedblom (Swe), David Frost (Rsa), Peter Lawrie, Simon Wakefield, Anthony Wall, Marc Leishman (Aus), Gregory Havret (Fra), Scott Laycock (Aus), Graeme McDowell, Scott Drummond, Chris Rodgers, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Sam Walker, Sung Lee (Kor), Richard Finch, Keith Horne (Rsa), Phillip Archer, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Peter O'Malley (Aus)
73 Richard Lee (Nzl), Joost Luiten (Ned), Phillip Price, Mukesh Kumar (Ind), Chawalit Plaphol (Tha), Simon Dyson, Harmeet Kahlon (Ind), Paul Broadhurst, Kane Webber (USA), Marc Warren, Gerald Rosales (Phi), Rahul Ganapathy (Ind), Gavin Flint (Aus), Sam Little
74 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Damien McGrane, Colin Montgomerie, Steven Bowditch (Aus), Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Adam Groom (Aus), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Gary Simpson (Aus), Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), David Bransdon (Aus), Michael Curtain (Aus), Paul McGinley, Thomas Levet (Fra)
75 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Airil Rizman (Mal), Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Steven Jeffress (Aus), David Lynn, Vijay Kumar (Ind), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Alastair Forsyth, C Muniyappa (Ind), Ignacio Garrido (Spa)
76 Bryan Saltus (USA), Steve Webster, Ian Poulter, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn), Terry Price (Aus)
77 Frankie Minoza (Pha), David Smail (Nzl), Andrew Coltart, Simon Khan, Sam Torrance, Ewan Porter (Aus), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Ariel Canete (Arg), Jong Yul Suk (Kor), Peter Fowler (Aus)
78 Anthony Kang (USA), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Vivek Bhandari (Ind)
79 Ashok Kumar (Ind), Scott Hend (Aus)
80 Tadahiro Takayama (Jpn), Hyung-tae Kim (Jpn)
81 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe), Carl Suneson (Spa)