Hong Kong: Thailand's Poom Saksansin fired a three-under-par 67 to stay two shots off the pace after the first round of the Hong Kong Open yesterday.
Poom, a two-time Asian Tour winner, was in a seven-way tie for fourth place alongside Korean-American Micah Lauren Shin, Belgium's Thomas Detry, Wales' Jamie Donaldson, South Africa's Keith Horne, Sweden's Marcus Kinhult and Philippines' Angelo Que.
India's SSP Chawrasia set the early pace by carding a superb five-under 65 at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
The six-time Asian Tour winner led by one shot from England's Matthew Fitzpatrick and compatriot Shubhankar Sharma after overcoming the tricky windy conditions in the morning.
Starting on the back-nine, Chawrasia birdied holes 11, 13, 16 and 18. He showed his accuracy again when his approach at the par-five third landed within four feet of the hole where he would birdie again to move to five under.
The Indian dropped a shot on the fifth hole but recovered quickly with another birdie on No.9 to stay ahead of the chasing pack at the US$2 million (approximately 66 million baht) event, co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours.
Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and Malaysia's Danny Chia also ensured a strong Asian Tour presence atop the leaderboard when they returned with matching 68s in tied-11th place that included European No.1 Tommy Fleetwood and Major winner Justin Rose, both from England.
Defending champion Sam Brazel and Rafa Cabrera Bello were bunched among 16 players at one-under 69.
"I played well today. I hit the ball well and made some nice putts. Conditions were very tough today especially with the wind so I'm very happy my five under par today," said Chawrasia.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat began with an even par 70 to stay five shots off the lead.
Back in form following two runner-up finishes in Italy and Dubai, the big-hitting Kiradech has earned a spot at the 2018 World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship.
The top 20 players in the final Race to Dubai standings qualified for the event to be held from Feb 28-March 4 at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City.
Kiradech, who ended the season at No.11, said he's delighted to earn his third appearance in the event. With a tied 18th at the 2015 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play being his best finish in the World Golf Championships, the 28-year-old is eager to improve his record next March.
"I'm really excited to qualify for my third WGC-Mexico Championship. It is always fun to have the opportunity to play in these big tournaments against the top stars in the world. Being the first World Golf Championships of the year, I will be very motivated to produce a strong performance in Mexico and hopefully I can play well over four days to challenge for the title," said Kiradech.