JOHN Bickerton had an up and down opening round at the Qatar Masters, shooting four birdies and five bogeys in his one-over-par opening 73.

The Droitwich professional, who was in good form going into the tournament after finishing tied for 14th at the recent Abu Dhabi Classic, is seven shots behind early leaders, Hen-rik Stenson and Ricardo Gonzalez.

Swede Stenson and Argentine Gonzalez both coped well with the heat to shoot six-under-par 66s.

Bickerton made a great start to his round when he birdied the huge 591-yard par five opening hole, but he gave that shot straight back on the par four sixth. He found himself one over at the turn after picking up another bogey at nine.