Christian Cevaer leads after opening 66

Cevaer, who turned 36 on Monday, enjoyed a blast from the bunkers as he fired a six-under-par 66 at Beijing Honghua International Golf Club which effectively established a new course record.

A stroke back was a group of six players, including 2000 champion Simon Dyson of England , who credited pink tee pegs as part of the secret to his recent success, and compatriot Ross Fisher, looking to improve on last year's fourth place finish.

Asia 's charge in the Asian Tour and European Tour co-sanctioned event was led by India 's Rahil Gangjee, who mixed seven birdies against three bogeys for a 68 to lie two off the pace. Malaysian Danny Chia was a further stroke back with Thailand 's Prayad Marksaeng and Chinese Taipei veteran Wang Ter-chang.

Title holder Paul Casey overcame two bogeys in mid-round to post a 71 while Sweden 's Henrik Stenson, the highest ranked player in the field at world number 13, struggled to a 73. A battling Li Chao flew China 's flag with a 72 while the evergreen Zhang Lian-wei bogeyed his last and settled for a 73.

Cevaer was delighted to take charge of the 12th Volvo China O pen . "I just swung it beautifully and felt great. One key of the round was my fine bunker play as I got it up and down four times (for par) and also holed my bunker shot for a birdie on the third," said the Frenchman.

With the likes compatriots Jean Van De Velde, Jean-Francois Remesy and Raphael Jacquelin stamping their mark on the European Tour, Cevaer is determined to return to the winner's circle after his maiden success at the 2004 Canarias O pen .

He began his campaign in the Chinese capital strongly, holing out a brilliant 30-foot shot from the bunker for his o pen ing birdie at the third and subsequently struck it hot with his irons, first nailing a seven iron to six feet at the fourth and a wedge to five feet on the seventh for birdies. He picked up three more shots on the inward nine, all from inside five feet.

"There is a good atmosphere within the group," he said of the camaraderie that exists amongst the Frenchmen on Tour. "There were eight of us at dinner two days ago and for the past two or three season, that has been case. We emulate one another and we know we can now be a factor on Tour."

Dyson says he feels like "a different man" whenever he tees up in Asia , thanks largely to an outstanding rookie professional year on the Asian Tour in 2000 that saw him lift three titles and the Order of Merit crown. He subsequently graduated onto Europe but waited for five years before his maiden European success which came at last month's co-sanctioned Indonesian Open.

The Yorkshireman revealed his superstitious nature and a change in attitude have been instrumental in his return to form. "In Jakarta , I carried only one tee in the pocket and it was pink. For the rest of the four days, I never used two tees and it was always pink. I got them in America and the first week I used them was Jakarta . I'm running out of tees now though and need to get more!" said Dyson.

"The year I had out here (in 2000), everything seems to hap pen for me and it was a golden period. I thought I just had to turn up in Europe and the scores would be there. I kind of enjoyed myself a bit too much but from August last year, I changed my attitude. I started preparing for the future instead of enjoying the present. I think it's helped me a lot."

Beijing brings back fond memories for the pint-size Gangjee as his maiden Asian Tour victory was recorded two years ago in the Chinese capital, which will host the 2008 Olympics. But since his winning breakthrough, success has been hard to follow.

He brightened his chances here by racing out with five birdies in his o pen ing eight holes before settling for two more birdies against three dropped shots. "It (my mind) was definitely racing. I was trying to push it as far as I could. I didn't set a limit as to how far I could go. People say six or seven under is good but it didn't seem to hap pen for me at the end. I'm not going to be hard on myself," said Gangjee, who enjoyed a single top-10 last year and none yet this season.

He conceded his own expectations rose too high after his successful 2004 season. "I haven't played well the past one year but the game is becoming slightly better. I don't want to think about the score too much now. I just want to go out there and play the game. Everybody wants to go out and win but the more you think of trying to win, it gets in your way. I need to get out of my own way," said Ganjee.

Chinese prospect Li Chao, last year's China Tour Order of Merit winner, rued a three-putt bogey on his last hole which prevented him from being in red figures. The 25-year-old is hoping to launch a challenge with a different mindset this week. "I've not played well in the big events in the past, so I'm treating this as any other week," said the big-hitting Li.

"I've enjoyed a few practice rounds here before the tournament and it's helped me. I played well from tee to green but my putting was a bit of a letdown and it wasn't nice to three-putt my last hole."