Jeev Milkha Singh

Tokyo: Jeev Milkha Singh flew on the wings of two eagles and five birdies to reach the top of the leaderboard in the Yomiuri Memorial tournament here on the Japan Golf Tour.

Jeev fired a seven-under 65 following his bogey-free six-under 66 on first day to lead by one shot at midway stage despite a last hole bogey.

It put him on road to his first Japan Tour title and that comes in the week after his winning the Volvo Masters of Europe in Valderrama. Jeev has won titles on Asian and European Tour but none in Japan.

The Indian had eagles on 10th, his first hole of the day, and 17th, the second last. He birdied four in a row from 14th to 17th and added one more on third. His bogeys came on fourth and ninth. He now has three eagles in two rounds.

Tetsuji Hiratsula is second at 12-under with 67 and 65, while Korea’s Ik Je-chang, the joint first round leader is third at 11-under.

Jeev started the event with a brilliant six-under 66 that had him joint lead. He enjoyed a blemish-free card with four birdies and an eagle.

Jeev is aiming to become the first Indian to qualify for the US Masters.

The 34-year-old is now at a career-best 77th place in the world rankings. A top 50 place would give him automatic entry to the opening major of the year.

“It hasn’t set in yet,” he told the Asian tour Web site on Friday. “It’s certainly a dream come true, to win one of the biggest events of the year in Europe. “A goal of mine now will be to get into the top 50 in the world which will also earn me an invite to the US Masters.” (PTI)