Australian Adam Crawford is one stroke off the lead after the first round of the SK Telecom Open in South Korea.
Young local Kim Bi-O conquered strong winds and an errant driver to claim the lead.
The 21-year-old, bidding for back-to-back OneAsia titles, shot six birdies and two bogeys at Pinx Golf Club on South Korea’s holiday island of Jeju for a four-under-par 68.
A stroke behind was amateur Kim Si-Woo, also of South Korea, and Australian Crawford, while 10 players shared fourth place another shot further back.
“The wind made it tough at the start and I wasn’t driving very well but after about five holes it started to come together,” said Kim, who won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last week.
“My putting was pretty good though. I lined a few up and they just went in.”
US PGA tour stalwart K.J. Choi, arguably the best player Asia has produced, and a three-time winner at the Pinx event, finished the day one over par but promised a better showing on Friday.
“The wind was very strong so you had to hit a lot of long irons in as second shots and it is very difficult to stop a long iron on these greens,” he said.
“I wanted to be around par, so to be one over is not too bad.”
China’s Hu Mu topped the leaderboard for a while after going six under through 13 holes, but his game came unstuck at the 14th and he dropped four shots in three holes before closing two under for a share of fourth place.
After spending the off-season working out in the gym, Hu said he was getting a bit more distance with his irons.
“If I can control the distance, I have the chance to do well in the tournament,” he said.