Chawalit Plaphol leads with opening 63

Thailand 's Chawalit Plaphol established a new course record of six-under-par 65 en route to the clubhouse first round lead in the Bangkok Airways Open on Thursday.

The sweet-swinging Chawalit enjoyed a birdie binge at the par-71 Santiburi Samui Country Club, drilling eight birdies and dropping two bogeys to lead by one stroke from Malaysian surprise package, S. Murthy.

Murthy birdied his last three holes in the US$200,000 event to surge into second place on 66 while current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza, Malaysian P. Gunasegaran and Chinese Taipei's Lu Wei-lan were a further two strokes back in third place.

A total of 30 players, including Thai star Thongchai Jaidee who was two-under through 16 holes, failed to complete the first round due to darkness and will resume early Friday at 6.50am.

Starting from the 10th, Chawalit tamed the challenging Santiburi Samui course, hosting its first professional event, by draining two lengthy putts of 60 and 35 feet at the 18th and sixth holes. Solid iron play, coupled by the receptive greens, saw him pepper the pins with the remaining six birdies being inside eight feet.

"Everything worked today and with the overnight rain, the greens were a lot softer and you could attack the flags. It's a hard course to walk, so I was pacing myself well because you don't want to get tired," said Chawalit.

He made a big par save on his last hole of the day, at the par five ninth hole after hooking his drive into a water hazard. But a superb five wood recovery and a par conversion from eight feet saw Chawalit cling on for the sole lead.

While he won in Japan last year, Chawalit is winless on the Asian Tour since his lone success 1998. With compatriot Prayad Marksaeng having recently ended a five-year winless run, Chawalit is also keen to re-join the winner's circle in Asia as it would also mean an exemption into the lucrative HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai next month.

"I've been playing well of late, so I think I may have a chance of winning here. It would be nice to qualify for the HSBC event," said the 31-year-old Chawalit.

Murthy, 34, was the surprise name on the leaderboard, battling back from a mid-round wobble to finish strongly with three closing birdies. Starting from the 10th, he birdied the 11th, 13th, 14th and 15th before dropping four shots over a seven-hole stretch as the Santiburi Samui course showed its teeth.

"I kept my cool after those mistakes. It's really tough out there, this 66 feels more like a 61," said the Malaysian. "I hit it close on most holes and converted the putts. I've been producing top-five finishes in local events back home so I'm feeling confident about my game."

The evergreen Minoza was just as surprised to shoot a 68, especially after a two-week holiday in the United States to attend a friend's wedding. He didn't enjoy the benefit of a practice round, arriving at this resort island late on Wednesday but his form was impressive.

"This game is really funny," mused Minoza, one of Asia 's legends with six wins in Japan . "I was on holiday and played social golf on three days. So I'm quite rusty. It's a good score as I didn't see the course until this morning," said Minoza, who turns 46 in December.

After watching his younger brother Lu Wei-chih break through on the Asian Tour with a victory on home soil last month, the elder Lu Wei-lan is hoping to follow in his sibbling's footsteps as he started his campaign with a 68. His round was highlighted by a 25-foot birdie conversion on the fourth hole and another stunning birdie at the fifth where he blasted home from the greenside bunker.

"My brother beat me to the first title, so I'm hoping to follow him soon. I played pretty nicely all day with the only bogey being a three putt on six," said Lu, who was the halfway leader at the Macau Open in May.

Officials stopped play at 6.10pm but Thaworn's group opted to finish their last hole in near darkness. "I'm glad to finish. It was tiring out there so it'll be good to have a lie in tomorrow. I am happy with my form and feel like this course is suited to my game," said Thaworn, whose round was highlighted by a 25-foot birdie putt on the fourth.

Leading first round scores

65 - Chawalit Plaphol (THA)

66 - S Murthy (MAS)

68 - Lu Wei-lan (TPE), Frankie Minoza (PHI), P. Gunasegaran (MAS), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA)

69 - Somkiat Srisanga (THA), Gilberto Morales (VEN), Robin Hodgetts (AUS), Prayad Marksaeng (THA), Lu Wen-teh (TPE), Darren Griff (CAN), Shiv Kapur (IND), Chen Yuan-chi (TPE), Matt Keegan (AUS)

70 - Lam Chih Bing (SIN), Bryan Saltus ( USA ), Satoshi Shimouchi (JPN), Panuwat Muenlek [A] (THA), Unho Park (AUS)

71 - Prom Meesawat (THA), Steven Tan (MAS)

72 - Glenn Joyner (AUS), Preecha Senaprom (THA), Andrew Buckle (AUS), Uttam Singh Mundy (IND), Dean Alaban (AUS), Chapchai Nirat (THA)

73 - Soe Kyaw Naing (MYN), David Kang (USA), Firoz Ali (IND), Bunlue Maneerat (THA), Derek Fung (HKG), Kyi Hla Han (MYN)

Note: 30 players failed to complete their rounds due to darkness and will resume on Friday at 6.50am .

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