NEW DELHI, Aug 7: Indians had a disastrous first round in the $ 200,000 Omega Tour Sabah Masters at the Sabah Golf and Country Club (Malaysia), according to information received here.

Ajay Gupta and Jyoti Randhawa had the best cards among the Indians, with a one over par 73 and wwere lying in the joint 25th position with 16 others. Jeev Milkha Singh, too, had a poor round, going two over par 74, and was 43rd along with Amit Chopra, Arjun Singh, Arjun Atwal and Indrajit Bhalotia who all carded an identical 74.

Amritinder Singh and Vivek Bhandari went six over to languish in the joint 93rd position among the 140 golfers who teed off today. The cut will be applied after two rounds.

Meanwhile, American Aaron Meeks birdied all the par fives to lead the way in the seventh leg of the Omega Tour, with a four under par 68 to finish one stroke ahead of compatriot Fran Quinn and Australian Scott Laycock. China's Cheng Jun, who leads the Omega Order of Merit with earnings of $79,250, posted an opening round of 11 over par 83.

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