India's Chawrasia produced a superlative performance as he tackled tough windy environs to clinch the first-round lead at the Hong Kong Open with a superb five-under-par 65 in the co-sanctioned event on Thursday.

 

Starting on the 11th hole, the six-time Asian Tour winner dropped a lone shot on the fifth but sank his sixth birdie on the ninth to finish one shot ahead of compatriot Shubhankar Sharma and Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick.

 

 

                                   Chawrasia sank a 15-footer on the ninth to stay ahead of the chasing pack

 

 

“I’m playing well today. I’m hitting well and (playing) some putts well,” Chawrasia said. “Very tough conditions today. I’m very happy with my five under.”

Fitzpatrick dropped a shot on the first before reeling off a hat-trick of birdies and the Englishman grabbed a share of the lead when Chawrasia bogeyed the fifth.

 

The Indian sank a 15-footer on the ninth to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

 

Belgian Thomas Detry, Welshman Jamie Donaldson, Swede Marcus Kinhult, South African Keith Horne, Filipino Angelo Que, Thai Poom Saksansin and American Micah Lauren Shin returned three-under.

 

Playing alongside Fitzpatrick, European number one Tommy Fleetwood, fellow Englishman Justin Rose and seven others were a further shot behind.

 

Defending champion Sam Brazel and Rafa Cabrera Bello were bunched among 16 players at one-under.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW?

 

• S.S.P. Chawrasia’s best finish at the Hong Kong Open was in 2014 when he finished tied-fifth.
• He is seeking his second win abroad following his first overseas win in the Philippines last year.
• He is currently in fourth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and remains in contention to become the next Indian to lift the prestigious merit crown after Anirban Lahiri (2015), Jeev Milkha Singh (2006 & 2008), Arjun Atwal (2003) and Jyoti Randhawa (2002).
• Poom Saksansin is a two-time Asian Tour winner. He won his first title in Indonesia last year before injuring his back. He returned to his best form when he won the TAKE Solutions Masters in India in August.
• Earlier in his career, Poom played mostly on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) where he won once in 2015. Since then, his career has been on the upswing. He turned professional in 2013 at the age of 20 because he did not want financial support from his parents.
• Micah Lauren Shin is a Korean-American, who lives in Davao in the Philippines. His grandparents are Americans while his mother is half-American.
• Shin came through Qualifying School in 2017 and has not missed a single cut in his last 10 starts on Tour so far this season.
• Danny Chia finished tied-eighth at the UBS Hong Kong Open last year. He holds two Asian Tour wins, with his last victory coming in 2015 in Chinese Taipei.