Norman shows old form on first day

Australian legend Greg Norman displayed some old bite en route to a five-under-par 67 at the US$1.5 million BMW Asian Open today, ending the first round one shot behind leader Simon Dyson of England.

The Great White Shark, as Norman is fondly referred to, enjoyed a bogey-free outing at the par 72 7,300-yard Tomson Golf Club, delighting the large galleries with swashbuckling golf that helped make him a global name. The BMW-backed event is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours and China Golf Association.

Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, playing alongside former world number one Norman, matched his illustrious playing partner's 67 in a round sparked by an outstanding run on the back nine, where he was six-under through his last seven holes. Asian stalwart Choi Kyung-ju of Korea and Thai-based American Greg Hanrahan also finished the day one off the pace.

“I'm very happy with the round. it was a good solid day,” said Norman , bidding for his first Tour victory since 1998. “Being early in the morning, the golf course was fairly soft, fairly giving and fortunately I did a good job at it.”

Starting from 10, Norman turned in three under before shooting back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. He endured some anxious moments on his last hole, a par five, when his drive hit a cart path, bounced across a water hazard, much to his relief, before landing under a tree. He hit his second shot sideways to the 16th fairway and went on to save par.

The Aussie, who turns 50 next February, is confident of challenging for the BMW Asian Open, provided that his back, which has curtailed his playing schedule in recent times, holds up. “When I left home, I felt pretty good with my golf swing. Sometimes, the travelling is not great for my back as you're sitting around a lot for 20 hours. However I felt great this week and I felt pretty good which kind of makes me relax in my mind when I play. I played in Seoul and played very well, shot five or six under. The signs are there. It's just a matter of keeping my fingers crossed every morning when I wake up. I do think I can win this thing,” said Norman .

Asian Tour star Prayad, whom Norman had described as a world-class player when they played together in Dubai some years ago, stumbled to one-over after a double bogey seven on his 11th hole, at the second. The slightly built Thai star bounced back magnificently, shooting four birdies and an eagle two at the seventh when a wedge shot from the fairway spun back into the cup to share Norman 's thunder.

“My irons were really good coming in. I hit it close to the pins and got a bit lucky on the seventh with the eagle. My back was not good in Japan last week and I had to withdraw after the first round but so far so good here. It was nice to play with Greg Norman as he has such a good swing. My swing has not been good recently but watching him gave me some inspiration,” said the Thai.

Norman was also complimentary of Prayad's game, especially with his fast finish. “I thought Prayad has got an excellent golf swing. He impressed me the last time I played with him. Obviously, his finish today was very impressive, two, two, four (eagle, birdie, birdie) that's a nice way to round up your day,” said Norman .

A week after missing the cut in the British Masters, Dyson found his way to the top of the BMW Asian Open leaderboard after a round that included seven birdies to establish a new course record at Tomson. He is relishing a return to the Far East , where he was the Order of Merit winner in Asia in 2000 following a spectacular rookie season which saw him win the national Opens of China, Macau and Hong Kong .

“Anything to do with China , I'm three out of three. It'll be nice to make it four,” said Dyson. “I started off really well, drove the ball great and got a couple under early on and putted really well and never missed a thing. I had three lipouts and a horse-shoe as well. It just felt great. I just tried to get it on to the green, knocking to about 12 feet often and finishing my putts.”

The Englishman, who played for the victorious Great Britain and Ireland team that won the Walker Cup in 1999, is trying to get his career back on track after suffering another injury mishap. Last year, he fractured his finger and two months ago, he broke a bone in his left elbow while playing tennis. “I did well in Dubai and then went to Singapore and broke a bone in my left elbow while playing tennis with my brother. I slipped and my elbow took the full weight of my body. It's nice to be leading by one over Greg. He looked to be playing well. I kept looking back ( Norman was in the group behind) a bit and he kept playing nice,” said Dyson.

Choi, playing in the afternoon with the winds picking up, was pleased to end the day just one back. “It was tough. I thought two or three under would be good, so I'm happy with my start. I was patient today and I was comfortable on the greens,” said the Korean, who rounded his day by rattling home an 18-foot birdie on the last hole.

Defending champion Padraig Harrington battled to an even par 72 where he found water on his final hole to lie six off the lead while local Chinese hero Zhang Lian-wei carded a 70.

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