For England’s Justin Rose, it was a dream start as he birdied in the very first hole.

 

He showcased amazing spunk by surging ahead with a sensational first round 10-under-par 62 to grab the first round lead at the Indonesian Masters presented on Thursday.

 

 

                                              For Rose, it was a dream start as he birdied in the first hole 

 

 

The world number six took advantage of the benign early morning conditions to power his way to the top with a flawless card marked by 10 birdies at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. It would have been a course record for the Olympic gold medalist if not for the preferred lie ruling which was in force.

 

Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul gave his merit battle a lifeline by opening with a 64 to stay two shots back of Rose in second place while compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai remained in the mix with a 65 which saw him share third place with Korea’s Giwhan Kim at the Asian Tour’s season-ending flagship event.

 

Singapore’s Choo Tze Huang, who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation, enjoyed an encouraging start by posting a 66 to grab a share of fifth place together with Australia’s Ashley Hall and Lu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei.

 

Playing in his event overseas after earning a one-year exemption on the Asian Tour, China’s Xiao Bowen also had an encouraging start with his first round 68.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW?

 

• Justin Rose turned professional in 1998 and together with his wife, Kate they run the Kate & Justin Rose Foundation, benefitting the youth of Orlando.
• Rose only missed one green today and had a total of 26 putts for an opening 62.
• Gunn Charoenkul is currently lying in 111th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He needs to break into the top-61 on the money list to secure his tour card for 2018.
• Gunn missed the grade at Qualifying School and his best result on the Asian Tour is a tied-15th finish at the Queen’s Cup in June.
• Gunn’s eagle on nine came courtesy of an 18 foot putt. He took advantage of watching his playing partner Javi Colomo’s putt first before reading the line and sinking that putt.
• Gunn hit 11/14 fairways and 16/18 greens. He had a total of 27 putts in his first round.
• Xiao Bowen earned a one-year exemption on the Asian Tour following his victory at the KG S&H CITY Asian Golf Championship two weeks ago. It was the first event in nine years that the Asian Tour was sanctioning in China.