2007 Macau Open - Round 1: McKechnie sets sizzling pace with a 64

Australian Leigh McKechnie stunned the field by grabbing the first round lead in the Macau Open on Thursday but two-time champion Zhang Lian-wei of China was snapping at his heels.

McKechnie, playing in his rookie season on the Asian Tour, fired a sizzling seven-under-par 64 at Macau Golf and Country Club to lead by one stroke from Malaysia's Iain Steel, India's Gaurav Ghei, former Macau Open champion Jason Knutzon of the United States, Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei and American Anthony Kang.

Veteran Zhang, playing with new clubs in his search for a record third victory here, was amongst those lying a further stroke back in the US$300,000 event, the 14th leg of this season's Asian Tour.

Compatriot Liang Wen-chong opened with a 69 to strengthen his bid of replacing South African Anton Haig as the leader of the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit. The second-ranked Liang needs to win over US$4,000 this week to regain top spot.

After plying his trade back home over the last 10 years, the 33-year-old McKechnie opted for Asia in hope of finding his pot of gold. With his opening round's fireworks which included seven birdies, it earned the Aussie a real shot at a first major victory.

"I just enjoy playing tournaments rather than being back home playing smaller two-day events," said McKechnie. "I've tried to survive on that for 10 years and I made the step up here so that my wife and little baby can have a better life. We all try to survive and earn some good money to purchase a house and things like that."

McKechnie seized advantage of calm conditions in the morning to birdie all the par fives and was delighted to stay out of trouble at the challenging Macau layout. "I just played steady all day and wasn't in any trouble. I played here for the first time on Tuesday and I liked the course straight away," said the Aussie, who is playing in his fourth Asian Tour event.

The 42-year-old Zhang triumphed in Macau in 2001 and 2002 and while his last Tour victory was in 2003 at the Volvo China Open, the Chinese legend feels he can step up onto the winner's rostrum once more.

With new equipment in the bag except for his putter, Zhang sank six birdies and dropped a single bogey which he blamed on poor management. He started playing with the new clubs on Tuesday but has adjusted easily to them. "I have always hit a low ball flight. I'm getting the same distances with these new clubs which has a higher ball flight and it helps me stop the ball better on the greens," he said.

Zhang was disappointed that he didn't shoot any lower. "I was five under through 11 holes and I started thinking that I should try to maintain the score. That was bad management as I should have stayed aggressive as there was no wind today. On the eighth, I told myself not to be aggressive with my tee shot and ended up missing the fairway for my bogey," he said.

Ghei, presently eighth on the UBS Order of Merit, continued to ride on his recent good form as he charged into contention with four birdies and one eagle on the 18th after he struck an approach with his rescue club to 10 feet of the pin. "The course was there for the taking," said the Indian, who won the Pine Valley Beijing Open last month.

After ending an 11-year title drought in Taipei last year, Ghei said he was now in his best form of his career and attributed his rise to the hard work put in with swing coach Claude Harmon. "He's told me what my tendencies are and those are the things that I keep working on. I have also realised that you can never have a perfect golf swing and you will never perfect this game. You'll have days when you don't have a clue on what is going on.

"I hope to be in contention on Sunday. I have won a few times and it takes the pressure off from winning. When you're in contention, you're hoping that will sort of help you a bit more than the other guys."

Steel, who is of Scottish-Malaysian parentage, was delighted to be amongst the leaders as he has endured a recent lean spell of late. He admitted his game had suffered after a runner-up finish in the co-sanctioned Clariden Leu Singapore Masters.

"The last month and half, it's been disappointing. I missed three straight cuts in China last month and maybe I was expecting too much from myself. I know I can play but I was putting pressure on myself to perform. I have to just let it happen.

"I took last week off and it was good. I didn't practice hard and just relaxed. I've come here with that attitude and will take whatever that comes my way," said the 36-year-old, who is seventh on the UBS Order of Merit.

Leading first round scores (click here for full leaderboard):

64 - Leigh McKechnie (AUS)

65 - Gaurav Ghei (IND), Jason Knutzon (USA), Anthony Kang (USA), Iain Steel (MAS), Lu Wen-teh (TPE)

66 - Jarrod Moseley (AUS), Zhang Lian-wei (CHN), Simon Yates (SCO), Scott Barr (AUS), Gary Simpson (AUS), Richard Moir (AUS)

67 - Arjun Singh (IND), Digvijay Singh (IND), Uttam Singh Mundy (IND), Olle Nordberg (SWE), Scott Hend (AUS), Scott Strange (AUS), Wang Ter-chang (TPE), Rahil Gangjee (IND), Bryan Saltus (USA)

68 - Danny Chia (MAS), Mitchell Brown (AUS), Lee Sung (KOR), Craig Smith (WAL), Kane Webber (AUS), Chris Rodgers (ENG), Unho Park (AUS), Juvic Pagunsan (PHI), S. Sivachandran (MAL), Lin Chie-hsiang (TPE), Tony Lascuna (PHI), Peter Karmis (RSA)

69 - Roy Moon (USA), Kim Tae-jin (KOR), Chen Chung-cheng (TPE), Neven Basic (AUS), Liang Wen-chong (CHN), Gavin Flint (AUS), Tony Carolan (AUS), Airil Rizman (MAS), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA), Park Jun-won (KOR), Panuwat Muenlek (THA), Chang Tse-peng (TPE), Ashley Hall (AUS), Mike Cunning (USA), Ross Bain (SCO), Kao Bo-song (TPE), Choo Tze-Huang [A] (SIN)

May 17, 2007

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