The event, which started at the Marriott Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire in England yesterday, saw Jeev in full form as he blitzed the course to be six-under after 13 holes and looked in contention to challenge the day's best card of eight-under 64 by Australia's Geoff Ogilvy and John Bickerton of England.

But a disastrous finish saw him making bogies on his 17th and 18th holes (the 8th and 9th of the course as he had started from the 10th tee) to finally finish at four-under 68 and tied for 9th place.

Jeev who had finished eighth in the English Open last year, began with a birdie on the par-4 tenth and then added two more on the 14th and 15th to be three-under at the turn. On his back nine, the 27-year-old from Chandigarh made a hat-trick ofbirdies starting from the 560-yard, par-five second. His first bogey came on the 464-yard, par-four fifth.

Scores (after 18 holes): 64: Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), John Bickerton (Eng); 66: Matthias Gronberg (Swe); 67: Olle Karlsson (Swe), Sam Torrence (Sco), Mark McNulty (Zim), David Carter (Eng), Thomas Gogele (Ger); 68:

Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Darren Clarke (Net), Andrew Coltart (Sco), Gary Orr (Sco), Roger Winchester (Eng), Tom Gillis (US), Peter Mitchell (Eng), Stephen Leaney (Aus), Paul Curry (Eng).