TIANJIN, China, May 2 - Robert-Jan Derksen made light of stiff winds to shoot a six-under-par 66 for a two-shot lead after the opening round of the Volvo China Open at Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club on Thursday.
The tall Dutchman shrugged off two early bogeys with eight birdies around the links-style course to stamp his mark on the 20 million yuan (around U.S. $3.2 million) tournament, co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the European Tour.
Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, France's Raphael Jacquelin and Australian Brett Rumford -- winners on the European Tour already this season -- had a share of second place, while six players were bunched a shot further back.
Defending champion Branden Grace, seeking to become the first person to lift the title for a second time and against a field that boasts six other former winners posted a 74.
"It was a funny day because I started well with a birdie from about five feet but then three-putted the third and fourth and ended up in three divots on the fairways later in the round," said Derksen.
"But I made a lot of birdies (coming home), and I’ve ended the day in a really good position. I started making a few putts and my confidence lifted."
Derksen, 39, began his professional career in Asia in 1999 and has enjoyed a chequered career in Europe ever since, having to return to Q-School five times and bouncing between the Challenge Tour and the flagship circuit.
He famously beat Ernie Els by a stroke to win the Dubai Desert Classic in 2003, but his only other win came at the Maderia Island Open two years later.
"It’s only the first day, I know, but I haven’t led a tournament for quite a while, so if I can keep rolling-in the putts, hopefully we could be in for a good week", he said.
The trio in second place has shown far more recent European Tour form.
Rumford won the Ballantine's Championship in Korea last week, Jacquelin claimed the Open de España in Valenica a fortnight ago and Kiradech grabbed his first European Tour title at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur in March.
"Mentally I feel nice and fresh -- and obviously it was a bit of a mental grind out there with the wind," said Rumford.
"You had to be really patient, so it was a good test for the first round back after my victory last week. It's just a matter of 'keep doing what you're doing'.
"I was quite lucky on the front nine as there wasn't a lot of wind," said Kiradech, who was one of the early starters before the breeze picked up. "With this type of wind … it isn't suited for us (big hitters). The good way to play this course is to know how to control the ball and keep it low."
Jacquelin was delighted with his blemish-free round after missing a cut in Korea last week following the high of winning a marathon nine-hole playoff the week before.
"It’s a great start. Any time you have no bogeys and four birdies, it’s always a good day," he said.
"It’s fairly wide open so it’s not too difficult off the tee, but if you do miss the fairway you can find yourself in trouble because it can be difficult to pick the right line for your second shot."
Twelve-year-old Chinese amateur Ye Wechong, who after striking his opening drive firmly down the middle of the fairway became the youngest player ever to take part in a OneAsia or European Tour event, struggled in the conditions and finished with a 79.
His 16-year-old fellow qualifier Dou Zecheng, however, shot an impressive 70.
Ye said he was proud to have broken the age record set only last year by countryman Guan Tianlang, who made history last month by becoming the youngest player to take part in the U.S. Masters -- making the cut to boot.
Ye seems to be following in Guan's footsteps in more ways than one, as he also came under time pressure during his round on Thursday. Guan was docked a shot for taking too long during the second round at Augusta.
"I was a little nervous when I teed off but I tried to forget the nerves," he said. "(Then) the referee timed me... and warned me to play more quickly. I was affected a little -- Guan Tianlang was penalized as well. I will pay more attention to this.
The six players sharing fifth place are Park Sang-hyun (Korea), Aaron Townsend and Terry Pilkadaris (Australia), Mikko Ilonen (Finland), Lee Slattery (England) and Paul Lawrie (Scotland).
Indonesia's number one player Rory Hie, who for the second year in a row chose to play in China instead of the Indonesian Masters going on this same week in his home country, completed the first round in one-over 73, which puts him in a tie for 58th place. This must bring back memories from last year when he missed the cut here after scoring 72 in the first round followed by a 74. Hence he'll need a solid round tomorrow to avoid this happening again.
Scores after round one (Par 72, am denotes amateur):
66 - Robert-Jan DERKSEN (NED)
68 - Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA), Raphael JACQUELIN (FRA), Brett RUMFORD (AUS)
69 - PARK Sang-hyun (KOR), Aaron TOWNSEND (AUS), Mikko ILONEN (FIN), Lee SLATTERY (ENG), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Paul LAWRIE (SCO)
70 - Garrett SAPP (USA), Mark FOSTER (ENG), DOU Ze-cheng (am, CHN), Stephen GALLACHER (SCO), YAN Bin (CHN), Alexander NOREN (SWE), Thomas BJORN (DEN), Alvaro QUIROS (ESP), Estanislao GOYA (ARG), S S P CHOWRASIA (IND), Ricardo SANTOS (POR), Matthew GRIFFIN (AUS), Matthew BALDWIN (ENG), Graeme STORM (ENG), LEE Hyung-joon (KOR)
Selected:
73 - Rory HIE (INA)
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