Four top first round leaderboard

Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol led the Asian charge at the TCL Classic on Thursday, shooting a spectacular eight-under-par 64 for a share of the first round lead with England's rising star Paul Casey and Swedish duo Johan Edfors and Fredrik Andersson Hed.

On a low scoring day where 109 players shot 70 or better, the sweet-swinging Thai enjoyed a birdie binge at the scenic Yalong Bay Golf Club in the US$1 million event jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Chawalit missed the cut at last week's Qatar Masters but a good rest before flying out to the Chinese resort island saw him come out with guns blazing in his afternoon round. "I just wanted to keep the ball on the fairways and greens and I was able to do that. I took only 26 putts. I've not been playing well of late but knew that a great round like today's was just around the corner," said the Thai.

Starting from the 10th, Chawalit turned in 33 with four birdies against a lone bogey and romped home in 31 to give himself a chance of winning his second individual title on the Asian Tour. Last season, he broke through with a maiden victory on the Japan circuit.

Englishman Casey underlined his growing credentials when he set the early pace in the morning session. The 27-year-old, who was a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team last year, had a blemish free round that included eight birdies.

"It is such a nice course and if you put the ball in play, there are birdies to be had. If you look at the rest of the scores, everybody is shooting low numbers," said Casey, who partnered Luke Donald last year to steer England to victory in the WGC-World Cup in Spain .

The young Englishman is also a fan of golf architect Robert Trent Jones Jr, who designed the Yalong Bay layout. Casey's home course in England is a Jones design and he said he has felt right at home after arriving in Sanya. "I like the course. This is a lot like what I play every day of the week when I am not on Tour. I can figure my way round his courses," he said.

Korean veteran Choi Gwang-soo, American Corey Harris, winner of this year's Asian Tour Qualifying School, and Irishman Paul McGinley were amongst those who shot 65s while another Korean Mo Joong-kyung, who will make his debut for Asia in the Visa Dynasty Cup next month, Chinese Taipei's Lin Keng-chi and Filipino veteran Frankie Minoza, wielding a broomhandle putter for the first time in two years, produced 66s that was matched by Danish star Thomas Bjorn.

Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, who won the TCL title when the event was last staged in 2002, began his campaign with a tidy 67 as he began his final push for a Masters invitation. The 54th ranked Montgomerie needs a good finish this week to break into the world's top-50 to qualify for the year's first Major at Augusta National in April.

Veteran Zhang Wen-gen was China 's top performer, shooting a 67 which included an eagle three and six birdies. Liang Wen-chong returned a 68 while the country's number one Zhang Liang-wei carded a 69.

Australian Terry Pilkadaris, winner of the Sanya Open at the Yalong course last season, also started well with a 66.

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