NANSHAN, China, Oct 10 - American rookie Eric Mina, winner of OneAsia's California Q-School in January, fired a brilliant four-under-par 68 on Thursday to grab a one-shot clubhouse lead in the first round of the U.S. $1 million Nanshan China Masters.
Play was suspended because of bad light with 14 golfers still to finish, but strong winds around the links-style Montgomerie Course at Nanshan International Golf Club played havoc with the scoring and only 14 players were under par.
Brazil's Lucas Lee, New Zealander Gareth Paddison and U.S.-based Korean Ted Oh shared second place after shooting 69, while Major winners Charl Schwartzel (71) and Darren Clarke (72) remain well in the hunt.
"I'm really happy. I controlled the ball very well," said Mina, who romped to a five-stroke victory at Q-School in January after turning professional just six months earlier.
That win gave him a start in all OneAsia's events, but the 25-year-old -- who had never previously traveled outside the United States -- struggled to find his feet and he has missed every cut so far.
"The first four tournaments were just a learning experience for me," said Mina, whose mother hails from the Philippines and father is an American-born Filipino.
"The season break motivated me to work harder. I was kind of down, so I took a little break and was able to get my game back. I feel my game is in a lot better shape now than what it was in March. I just wasn't experienced, but I had a really good three months with my coach."
The only blemish on Mina's scorecard was a double-bogey on the 16th -- he played the course back-to-front -- but he more than made up for it with six birdies including one made with a monster 60-foot putt on the sixth.
"This is going to be a learn-on-the-job experience. I'm really excited for the next few days," he said.
Lee, 26, a product of OneAsia's 2012 Q-School, also credited a hot putter for his excellent round.
"I've been playing pretty decent all summer. Nothing too crazy, but nothing too bad," he said of a recent stint on the Canada Tour.
"I was really excited to be coming back to Asia and play these next few tournaments."
Paddison too has been happy with his form despite missing the cut a fortnight ago at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
"I played really good … lots of really good iron shots," the left-hander said.
"I had numerous chances out there and it could have been a few better. Holing the putts when it mattered was also a key."
Clarke, the 2011 Open Champion, said he was very impressed with the leaders.
"They've obviously played well and rolled the ball well," the Northern Irishman said. "I was surprised coming up the last to see those scores. That's a great effort. Fair play to them.
"It was tricky out there today … the wind was pumping on a few holes. Some of the par fours played exceptionally long due to the wind and there's not much run out there, so I'm pretty pleased with level par."
Defending champion Liang Wenchong shot a 74 while Kim Bi-o, winner of the inaugural Nanshan China Masters in 2011 and last year's Order of Merit, was a shot further back, together with Indonesia's Rory Hie and George Gandranata.
The leading Chinese player is Li Haotong who has a share of fifth place after going two under for the day.
Scores after round one, with 14 players still to finish round one as it was suspended due to bad light, at the Nanshan China Masters being played at the par 72, 6,784-metre Montgomerie Course at the Nanshan International Golf Club:
68 - Eric MINA (USA)
69 - Lucas LEE (BRA), Gareth PADDISON (NZL), Ted OH (KOR)
70 - PARK Bae-jong (KOR), LI Hao-tong (CHN), Scott LAYCOCK (AUS)
71 - ZHANG Xin-jun (CHN), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Garrett SAPP (USA), Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA), Mark BROWN (NZL)
Selected:
75 - Rory HIE (INA), George GANDRANATA (INA)
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