Hong Kong: Thai duo Thongchai Jaidee and Danthai Boonma were among Asia's top performers with three-under-par 67s in the first round of the US$2 million UBS Hong Kong Open to stay three shots behind leader Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain yesterday.
Filipino Juvic Pagunsan and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh also shot 67s.
Cabrera-Bello sensationally eagled his last hole from the fairway to grab a one-shot lead from Frenchman Sebastien Gros following a 64, spinning a wedge approach from 99 yards into the 10th hole at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
Gros sank five birdies for second place, followed by a large group of players on 66, who include 2014 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner David Lipsky of the US, American Paul Peterson, Australian Sam Brazel and two-time Asian Tour winner Jbe Kruger of South Africa.
Thongchai, a three-time Asian Tour No.1, was rock solid, hitting top form which he attributed to putting a new golf ball and new irons into his golf bag ahead of the Hong Kong Open, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
"I played solid. I hit a lot of greens, didn't miss much on the fairways. I've not hit it like this for two months. I don't think I've seen my golf swing like this in two or three months. That's why we caught up a little bit," said the 47-year-old Thongchai.
Thongchai, who has not finished lower than 19th position in Hong Kong since 2005, feels he can contend for the season-ending Hong Kong Open title to end the year on a winning note.
"We know the course very well, that's the first thing. We're confident we can shape the shots on this course because the fairway is very tight and it gives me confidence to play," said Thongchai, who has six top-10s here.
World No.33 Cabrera-Bello, a two-time European Tour champion, extended his fine form in 2016 in which he has notched two runner-up finishes and four other top-fives. He beamed with delight after seeing his ball disappear at the hole from the fairway.
"Yeah, that was nice. I had perfect distance, hit a really good shot and was surprised to see it go in. I had never really finished a round like that, and felt nice," said the 32-year-old.
"I played really smart, made very little mistakes, even though I hit every green, pretty much all of them, didn't give myself trouble off the tee. I was in control all day and putted nicely, too, so it was nice work out there," he added.
Holder Justin Rose of England bogeyed the 18th hole to settle for a 70 after starting the week with uncertainty over a back injury which saw him withdraw from a tournament last week.
"I was pretty happy with that to be honest. I felt good with my body out there. I felt like I hit a lot of good golf shots. Just really struggled on the greens. I thought they were tricky this afternoon. I didn't quite have the speed," said the world No.15.