Singapore, March 8: China's top golfer Liang Wen-chong enjoyed a smashing start after an eight-under-par 64 alongside Australia's Marcus Fraser in the opening round at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Chinese stalwart struck eight birdies with a similar bogey free day for Fraser at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club.
With the event being played over two courses (Masters and Classic courses), the leading duo took a narrow one stroke lead over Japanese talent Shingo Katayama in tied third place in the US$1.1 million event. After firing an eagle on the second hole, India's Jyoti Randhawa was pleased with his round also in joint third alongside Scotsman Barry Hume who enjoyed his best start on the Asian Tour since joining as a rookie last year.
On the Classic Course, Liang, who is ranked fifth on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, was inspired by his performance in the opening stages when he carded three birdies on the fifth, sixth and eighth holes. He placed himself firmly on the top after having conquered the final nine holes blasting birdies on the 10th followed by four consecutive birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th holes.
"I played well on the first nine and after having fired three birdies, I was a bit more relaxed heading to the last nine holes after a good start. I carried my momentum into the back nine and I'm pleased with my overall first round performance," said Liang, who is gunning for his maiden title on the Asian Tour.
"I was driving it steady and my putting was pretty consistent as well. I don't want the pressure to get to me though. I'm still learning and there is a big field here but I'm going to try my best in the remaining rounds," he added.
The Melbourne-born Fraser fired seven birdies as he enjoyed a confident run on a similar course.
"I couldn't be happier. I just did everything well today. I hit a lot of good wedge shots and apart from a couple of wayward drives, my driving was pretty accurate. But other than that, it was quite a consistent round. I didn't make anything long but the chip in at the last just topped off a great day," said Fraser, who scored seven birdies that included a final birdie on the 18th hole.
Expecting the birth of his first child this month, Randhawa, a former two-time Asian number one, remained focused on the Classic Course with an eagle, seven birdies against two bogeys.
"I've been changing my swing a bit and my overall game. I was a bit patchy before coming here but now I'm committing more towards the shots and it worked out well," said Randhawa, with six Asian Tour titles under his belt.
"I decided to be more focused after my dropped shot on the third. I also dropped another shot on the last hole. Both bogeys were because of mental errors. I learnt from that and hope to play better tomorrow," he added.
Irishman Peter Lawrie shot a 66 together with Filipino Angelo Que, England's Graeme Storm and Martin Kaymer of Germany in tied sixth place. Asian Tour rookie Mark Brown blasted seven birdies against a lone bogey as he was also in joint sixth position.
Defending champion Mardan Mamat enjoyed a relaxed time on the Masters Course walking away bogey free for a steady 68 in tied 15th position. Mardan was in tied 15th place alongside India's Gaurav Ghei, France's Jean Van de Velde, Simon Yates of Scotland and New Zealand's Richard Lee who were the only five players from the top-32 on the leaderboard who had played on the Masters Course.
"I did what I have to do and I had a solid round," said Mardan.
"I played my own game and tried to be myself. I can only control my own game. I think I will take it a step at a time as that was the key for my steady run today," admitted the Singaporean.
Leading first round scores
64 – Marcus Fraser (Aus), Liang Wen-chong (Chn)
65 – Barry Hume (Sco), Shingo Katayama (Jpn), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
66 – Mark Brown (Nzl), Peter Lawrie (Ire), Angelo Que (Phi), Graeme Storm (Eng), Martin Kaymer (Ger)
67 – Rafael Cabrera Bello (Esp), Adam Blyth (Aus), Unho Park (Aus), Peter Hanson (Swe)
