Jha produced a bogey-free, seven-under-par 65 Monday to sit at the summit of the $30,000 Golf Citizen Classic leaderboard.

The 30-year-old from the southern Indian city of Bengaluru is two shots clear of Pakistani Hamza Amin and South African MG Keyser who carried on from where he left off at the Creek after capturing his maiden MENA Tour title.

“It could have been a great one [round] but I missed a few putts coming home. That’s golf. You can’t complain after opening with a 65,” said Jha who turned professional in 2010.

“I drove the ball well all day and holed some nice putts. Making those four birdies in a row from the third kind of kick-started my round. Overall, I played a good, solid round.”

Another South African, Teagan Moore, was solo fourth after a 68 while seven players carded three-under 69s, RAK Classic winner Peter Stojanovski (Australia), reigning order-of-merit champion Craig Hinton and his English compatriots Jamie Elson and Zane Scotland among them.

The steady start will be especially heartening for Scotland after the 10-time MENA Tour winner and the circuit’s only fully exempt player was forced to withdraw from the Creek Open after just 27 holes due to an on-going back injury.

Elson led this season’s order-of-merit race into the tour’s 10-week summer break but missed the resumption at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club last week as he successfully survived the first stage of European Tour Q-School in Scotland.

The 36-year-old former European Challenge Tour winner has stolen an early march on Fredrik From at The Els after the Swede took over top spot on the OOM with his T-4 finish at the Creek.

From signed for a even par 72 Monday to share 26th place with, among others, English amateurs Todd Clements (second equal last week with Presidents Cup-bound Indian No.1 Rayhan Thomas), Michael Gilbert and Jamie Richards. Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club amateur Michael Harradine opened with a 73 but it is the German, Marcus Toennessen, who leads the amateur leaderboard after a 71.

UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh, three under through 13, had his chances to hit the front page of the leaderboard but dropped a couple of shots coming home and that left him sharing 26th on level-par.

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