DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Retief Goosen shot a seven-under-par 65 Thursday and owns a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Qatar Masters.
Miguel Angels Jimenez and Nick O'Hern are tied for second at six-under 66 and Shiv Kapur sit alone in fourth at five-under 67.
Goosen had a bogey on the third hole but also carded four birdies on the front nine Thursday. He had three consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-13 but missed birdie putts the next two holes. A two-putt birdie on the par 4 16th moved him to seven-under.
"My game is not quite as good as it should be," Goosen said. "Hopefully this year I can start getting some good tournaments under the belt again and get myself back into that top three or so in the world rankings."
Goosen has slipped to eighth in the world rankings but a tie for fifth last week, coupled with Thursday's strong performance is a sign his game is turning around, he said.
