I had one bad shot in the day and it proved costly as I came out with a triple bogey on the tenth and ended with a one-under 71 in the first round of the Hero Honda Indian Open at the Delhi Golf Club.

Frankly, I would have been happy with a three-under. I played well but that bad tee shot on the 10th landed me in the bushes and I had a lost ball. From there, I could not get to the green and then from 15 feet I two-putted.

Rest of the round was great and I also had a good 15-footer for a birdie putt on the 17th. The last birdie putt on 18th would have been ideal, but I missed a birdie.

The work that I put in with my coach, Ajai Gupta, seems to be paying off. He has been helping me keep a positive frame of mind and even though I had a seven on the tenth, I am not getting upset because I know I played well otherwise. It was one bad shot and I paid a big penalty for it.

We have been working on concentrating on the present. I am not going to force things. I want to get out of the habit of trying too hard, because it always spoils things.

I just want to get into the zone and play one hole a time.

Coming to others on the course, it was a fine day for Indians. Gaurav Ghei was the star alongside Gurbaaz Mann. With six-under 66 each, they have a share of the lead with four others, Hur In-ho of Korea, David Gleeson of Australia, Danny Chia of Malaysia and Chapchai Nirat of Thailand. It is really a solid international leaderboard, but India have an edge with two of the six. At 71, I was 34th and hopefully I will move up.

... contd.