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November 12th 2009, Hong Kong: Unheralded Udorn Duangdecha of Thailand sprung a surprise of his own when he upstaged the tournament’s marquee names to take the first round lead at the UBS Hong Kong Open on Thursday.

The Thai signaled his strong intention of winning his maiden Asian Tour title when he took charge of the US$2.5million showpiece by returning with an opening eight-under-par 62.

Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands who had earlier taken the morning lead heads into the second round in second place on 63 while Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee together with defending champion Lin Wen-tang, England’s David Dixon and France’s Gregory Bourdy are a further shot back in tied-third on 64.

Udorn earned his right to play in this event after securing one of the three spots at the international qualifiers last month and he did not take long to show why he deserved to be among the elite field this week by mixing 10 birdies against two bogeys to take the outright lead.

“It might surprise everyone out there but I don’t think it surprised me too much. After all, I’ve been in this position before. I played according to my strategy and it worked out well,” said the 38-year-old Thai.

The scores for the Thai would have been even lower if not for the fading light at the closing ninth which resulted in a bogey for him.

“It was a pity that I bogeyed my last hole as I really couldn’t see the hole from where I was. I three-putted that shot as it was really getting dark. But I’ll get to tee off in the morning tomorrow, so it’ll be better,” said Udorn.

Derksen who is seeking his first win since 2005 opened his campaign with birdies on the third, fourth and eighth.

The Dutchman then coloured his card with more red on the 13th, 14th and 15th before a lone bogey on the par-four 16th spoilt his otherwise perfect card.

“You’ve to be patient here, that’s what I have learnt. I’ve been here five times and I think that really helps. I was patient today and took my chances. The greens are always a problem for us Europeans. You learn but you never really know,” said the Derksen.

“I didn’t hit many bad shots at all, just one three putt on the 16th. Other than that, I managed to hit all the greens and fairways and gave myself plenty of chances,” added Derksen.

Meanwhile Lin, a five-time Asian Tour winner began his title defence with birdies on the 10th and 11th in his opening back-nine before continuing his birdie run with another on the 17th.

The 35-year-old reached the turn in 33, before returning home with further birdies on the fourth, sixth and ninth at the 6,722 yards par-70 composite course at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

“I’m very pleased with how I played today especially with my opening two birdies that got my round underway. That gave me the confidence to go on and play well,” said Lin.

Lin broke the decade long stranglehold European golfers had on this event and will now attempt to become only the second player in the history of the event to make a successful defence of the title since compatriot, Hsieh Yung-yo did the honours in 1963 and 1964.

The five-time Asian Tour winner knows that he has a chance to follow the illustrious footsteps of his fellow countryman and believes that his mental strength is key to his title defence.

“I’ll be lying if I say that there’s no pressure. We’re professional sportsmen and we all play to win. If you don’t win, a second place or last place finish will not make any difference,” said Lin.

“I hope to maintain my form, play well over the next three rounds and most importantly stay focus for the challenges ahead,” added Lin.

Thongchai also kept his Asian Tour Order of Merit hopes alive and showed why he is one of Asia’s most celebrated players with another masterful display.

The Thai is bidding to become Asia’s number one for the third time by winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title after having won the crown in 2001 and 2004.

The 40-year-old also holds the most number of wins on the Asian Tour with 12 victories and is determined to end his season on a high.

“It has been a long season and it’ll be nice to end it off with a win. But I don’t want to think too much into that just yet as the field is very strong this week and anyone has an equal chance of winning,” said Thongchai.

“I try to do my best this year. My game is getting better right now because I’ve been working very hard with my coach and I put in a lot of effort myself. I just want to play my own game and do well,” added the Thai.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy posted a 66 to take a share of 16th place together with Asian Tour honorary member, Yang Yong-eun and China’s Liang Wen-chong.