March 10, 2006	Friday	Safar 9, 1427

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SINGAPORE, March 9: Home-grown Mardan Marmat carded a sizzling seven-under 65 to tie for the lead with Australia’s Marcus Fraser in the opening round of the US$one-million Singapore Masters on Thursday.

The Singaporean took full advantage of familiar course conditions to chalk up eight birdies, including five on the back nine, which he played first, to offset a single bogey on the 18th.

Mardan, whose only previous major win came in the 2004 Indian Open, said solid putting had made the difference.

Fraser, who finished joint-fifth in Singapore last year, closed the evening at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club with five birdies and a superb chip-in eagle at the 15th hole.

Four players were in hot pursuit two strokes behind the duo — Australians Wade Ormsby and Unho Park, and Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and Boonchu Ruangki.

Defending champion Nick Dougherty also had a creditable round, cancelling out two bogeys with five birdies to finish four shots off the pace at three-under 69.

Reigning Asian number one Charlie Wi of South Korea, who triumphed in Malaysia last month, continued his fine form with a three-under 69.

But Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee, who failed to make the cut in Singapore last year, continued to flirt with disaster with four-over 76, one worse than Sweden’s Nicholas Fasth, the tournament’s highest ranking player.

Other pre-tournament favourites who disappointed on the opening day included Britons Paul Broadhurst and last week’s Indonesian Open champion Simon Dyson, both carding a one-over 73.

Leading first-round scores:

65 - Mardan Marmat (SIN), Marcus Fraser (AUS)

67 - Wade Ormsby (AUS), Prayad Marksaeng (THA), Unho Park (AUS), Boonchu Ruangkit (THA)

68 - Peter Fowler (AUS), Gary Evans (ENG), Marcus Both (AUS)

69 - Lu Wei-Chih (TPE), Nick Dougherty (ENG), Charlie Wi (KOR), Miguel Angel Martin (ESP), Gary Murphy (IRL), Anders Hansen (DEN), Fredrik Widmark (SWE)

70 - Jose Manuel Lara (ESP), Scott Strange (AUS), Iain Steel (MAS), Jarmo Sandelin (SWE), Jean Van De Velde (FRA), Peter Hanson (SWE), Martin Erlandsson (SWE), Lu Wen-Teh (TPE), Chinarat Phadungsil (THA), Raymond Russell (SCO), Robert Rock (ENG), Ahmad Bateman (CAN)

71 - Shiv Kapur (IND), Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Jonathan Lomas (ENG), Stuart Little (ENG), Peter Gustafsson (SWE), Garry Houston (WAL), Soren Hansen (DEN), David Hinggins (IRL), Ross Fisher (ENG), Barry Lane (ENG), Lam Chi-Bing (SIN), Francois Delamontagne (FRA), Marc Warren (SCO), Steven Jeppesen (SWE), Peter Hedblom (SWE)

72 - Chris Rodgers (ENG), Robert Karlsson (SWE), Wang Ter-Chang (TPE), Jyi Hla Han (MYA), Gary Rusnak (USA), Simon Wakefield (ENG), Amandeep Johl (IND), Lee Song (KOR), Simon Yates (SCO), Anthony Brown (AUS), Steven O’Hara (SCO), Peter Lawrie (IRL), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Keith Horne (RSA), Joakim Haeggman (SWE), Bill Fung (SIN), Ian Garbutt (ENG), Bryan Saltus (USA), Gary Emerson (ENG), Marten Olander (SWE).