Duo top first round leaderboard

Sweet-swinging Chawalit Plaphol soared on eagle's wings to share the first round lead in the Volvo China Open after a sparkling seven-under-par 65 on Thursday.

The Thai's superb start was matched by Francois Delamontagne of France as the duo effectively established a new course record at Shenzhen Golf Club in the US$1.3 million championship. They lead by two strokes from veterans and playing partners Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand and England 's Barry Lane , who carded 67s.

A further stroke back were the likes of Australian Terry Pilkadaris, Thai-based Scotsman Simon Yates and Miles Tunnicliff of England . China 's best performer was a surprise name as unheralded Liu Guo-jie took the shine from local hero Zhang Lian-wei. Liu, who works at the practice range at the Shenzhen course, fired an impressive 69, a stroke better than Zhang, the 2003 Volvo China Open champion.

Title holder Stephen Dodd of Wales battled to a 71 while tournament favourite and Ryder Cup stalwart Paul Casey of England also returned a 71, lamenting a frustrating round in the event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

The 31-year-old Chawalit took full advantage of the four par five holes, snaring two eagles and as many birdies. The Thai was singled out by Casey earlier this week as a "fantastic" player when they crossed swords earlier this season.

"I hit my driver really well and hit my irons close to the pins and holed some good putts. I missed only two fairways out there which is the key really. If you miss shots, it's quite difficult to recover," said Chawalit, who has won a title each on the Asian Tour and in Japan .

Playing in the second group out this morning, Chawalit took full advantage of ideal conditions with a blistering front nine 31. He ripped a three wood to three feet at the par five fourth hole and then nailed a four iron to similar distance at the eighth to set up both his eagles.

He was even par on his inward nine but birdied his last two holes from six feet to snatch the joint lead with Delamontagne. "It was good to hear that Paul Casey still remembers me after we played together. I've been playing alright coming into the week and hope to keep it going," said Chawalit, who finished tied third in last year's Volvo China Open.

The 26-year-year-old Delamontagne, coming off his best year in the recent 2005 European Tour season where he finished 68th on the money list, sparkled in a round that included six birdies and one eagle. The Frenchman was surprised to pepper the pins, admitting that his swing was "not great."

"I only had about two or three long and testing putts, so that was a good start," said Delamontagne. "I'm pleased with the score. My swing was not great at times which was a bit strange considering I managed to hit it so close."

Lane and Boonchu, who have a combined age of 94 years, produced some vintage golf as they were 10-under as a pair. India 's 23-year-old Shiv Kapur, feeling his age as the third player in the group, was equally impressive with a 69.

The 49-year-old Boonchu was pleased with his opening round's effort, holing several long putts for birdies and enjoyed one chip-in birdie. "I scrambled for a good score out there. I missed many greens but chipped and putted well and saved four pars. I got lucky today. I'm really happy with my start as this golf course is quite difficult for me as it is rather long.

"I enjoyed playing with Barry as he's a gentleman. He could have easily been a few shots lower as he missed many makeable putts," said Boonchu, who made an unsuccessful bid at the US Champions Tour Qualifying School earlier this month.

The 45-year-Lane had his wife Camillia doubling up as caddie as he enjoyed a fast start alongside Boonchu. The Englishman was rock steady and missed only two greens in regulation. "Obviously, I played very nicely. I duffed two chips but other than that, it was pretty good. Camillia is down here with me and we can have a bit of a laugh and she can see what I'm like on the course, a grumpy old man! We decided that we were going to go out and enjoy ourselves and it was good fun.

"My team in the pro-am, between us, we were 240 years old and then today I played with Boonchu who is about 50. He's a great player," said Lane, a five-time winner on the European Tour.

The clubhouse was buzzing when local hope Liu, a nine-year professional, produced a four-birdie round to carry China's hopes in the Volvo China Open. "I'm satisfied with my form and tried to be as steady as possible. I'll not play aggressively as it's too risky. My goal is to be inside the top-10 this week," said Liu.

Zhang, who is the resident professional at the Shenzhen course which is located at the heart of the city, rued a cold putter as he ended the day five off the lead, needing two late birdies to salvage his day. "On the front nine, I was steady and didn't make any mistakes. But on the back nine, I didn't have a good result and my putting wasn't good. Some of the pins were in tough places and the greens are difficult to read with the slopes.

"It was nice to finish strongly with two birdies on the sixth and eighth holes. 65 is a really good score out there as the course is quite difficult. It was a bit different today for me and I was a bit nervous," said the 40-year-old Zhang.

Title holder Dodd, who won the Volvo China Open last year for his maiden European Tour triumph, started strongly with an outward 33 but a double bogey and two bogeys on his inward nine saw him sign for a 71. "It's a little disappointing after having been three under at the turn but you can't win a tournament today, so if I can make a decent score tomorrow then I'll be back in it. But the greens are really tricky here. Even if you hit a good shot, if you get on the wrong side of the hole, you are in trouble. It is just a case of being patient this week I think," said Dodd.

Casey is seen by many as the title favourite as he won earlier in China this season and also finished seventh in the HSBC Champions two weeks ago. But an up-and-down day left him flustered. "A little bit frustrating to be honest, I didn't hit the ball great, made a couple of mistakes and got stuck in a couple of bunkers so yes, I suppose the school report would read, could do better but there you go," said the 28-year-old, a four-time winner. "I was glad to see my recommendation (Chawalit) being up there – I should have put some money on it. 65 is a great score but when I played with him he just ripped it, he struck the ball beautifully, hit golf shots. I expected to see a four or five. But seven under is very good," said Casey.

Leading first round scores

65 - Chawalit Plaphol (THA), Francois Delamontagne (FRA)

67 - Barry Lane (ENG), Boonchu Ruangkit (THA)

68 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), Simon Yates (SCO), Johan Skold (SWE), Oliver Wilson (ENG), Miles Tunnicliff (ENG), Andrew Butterfield (ENG)

69 - Liu Guo-jie (CHN), Anthony Kang (USA), Peter Lawrie (IRL), David Park (WAL), Joakim Backstrom (SWE), Andrew Pitts (USA), Marc Cayeux (ZIM), Jose Manuel Lara (ESP), Shiv Kapur (IND), Chang Tse-peng (TPE), Ross Fisher (ENG)

70 - Soren Hansen (DEN), Anders Hansen (DEN), Zhang Lian-wei (CHN), Adam Groom (AUS), Kenneth Ferrie (ENG), Lin Keng-chi (TPE), Danny Chia (MAS), Benn Barham (ENG), Lee Sung-man (KOR), Adam Blyth (AUS)

71 - Anthony Wall (ENG), Paul Casey (ENG), Stuart Little (ENG), Stephen Dodd (WAL), Chen Yuan-chi (TPE), Carl Suneson (ESP), Clay Devers (USA), Gary Murphy (IRL), Philip Golding (ENG), Liang Wen-chong (CHN), Jyoti Randhawa (IND), Marc Warren (SCO), Mo Joong-kyung (KOR), Wang Ter-chang (TPE), Stephen Scahill (NZL), Damien Mcgrane (IRL)

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page