Rashid Khan could barely hide his excitement after he fired an impressive opening 68 to sit two shots off the lead at the end of the first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
With scoring conditions difficult thanks to strong winds at Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita, the Indian recorded seven birdies and three bogeys in his four under effort, the highlight of which was a brilliant 50-foot downhill birdie putt on the eighth.
Khan already has two Asian Tour wins under his belt and, after securing a best European Tour finish of a tie for sixth at the Hero Indian Open in March, he is glad to be in contention again.
"I played this tournament last year but missed the cut by one shot," he said. "It was a pity but I am glad to be back here and putting myself in good position for the next round.
I had a slow start to the season but the game's slowly coming back. It's going to be the same game plan for me tomorrow. Nothing changes - Rashid Khan
"I am very delighted with how I played. It was really windy when I played my practice rounds earlier this week and I wasn't expecting to shoot a good round when I started out today.
"I played really well. I started with two birdies in my opening three holes and that gave me some confidence heading into the round."
Jeunghun Wang was a further shot back as he searches for a second win in a row following his breakthrough at the Trophée Hassan II last week.
"It was really windy out there," he said. "It wasn't easy so I am happy to return with a 69. I tried my best out there and I hope to remain consistent for the next three rounds so I can try to push for another win again.
"The last few days have been great. I received a lot of calls and messages from family and friends, congratulating me on my win. I am really happy. It has been really enjoyable.
It will be nice to give myself a chance to try and win again this week - Jeunghun Wang
Argentina's Estanislao Goya also signed for a 69 and he echoed the sentiments of Khan and Wang, stressing that the wind had made scoring extremely difficult.
"It was a good round today," he said. "It was really tough out there with the wind, so I'm very happy.
"It's a difficult course with tricky greens. If you miss the green on the wrong side it's tough to get up and down. You have to be very smart and be in the right places.
"Patience is the key here. You can hit a not bad shot and the wind just takes it and makes it into a very bad shot."
