Shiv Kapur tied 15th in Foshan Open in China

Trying to find his way back into the European Tour, Shiv Kapur today opened with a round of two-under 70 to lie 15th after the first day of the Foshan Open on the Challenge Tour.

The 31-year-old Indian is making a determined bid to force his way into the top-15 of the Challenge Tour to make his way back into the European Tour, where he missed his card last year.

Kapur shot five birdies including three in a row from 11th to 13th against two bogeys. He teed off from the tenth and bogeyed the first hole, but then three birdies in a row from 11th to 13th put him back on rail. He also birdied the 17th and fifth.

Kapur is currently 36th on the Money List, but is about 18,000 Euros outside of the top-15. A win in any of the last three events including this one -- the others are in Oman and Dubai -- could see Kapur zoom back into the top-15.

He won the season's opening Challenge Tour event, Kensville Challenge, in Ahmedabad, India in January.

Meanwhile, Rhys Davies opened with a sparkling round of 65 on the opening day today. Davies has endured a spell in the doldrums recently but the Welshman was back to his brilliant best here, notching seven birdies in a flawless display at Foshan Golf Club to set a new course record and share the first round lead with Australian Scott Arnold.

The 28-year-old burst into life on The European Tour in 2010 on the back of a stunning Challenge Tour season which yielded victories in his native Wales and Spain.

He then took the step up to the top tier in his stride, winning in Morocco en route to finishing in 18th place in The Race to Dubai.

Since then he has found the going rather tougher, but he believes a return to his former glories could be just around the corner after rediscovering his touch with the putting stroke which has been hailed by many observers as amongst the best in the game.