Aberdeen’s Richie Ramsay is inside the top 10 in the Volvo China Open at the Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen after an opening round of three-under-par 69.
The 30-year-old, who finished second in the NH Collection Open in Spain earlier this month, is tied ninth after a round which included birdies at the first, third, ninth and 17th – with a solitary dropped shot at the par-3 16th.
Alvaro Quiros and Simon Dyson share the lead as they both go in search of their first European Tour win since 2011. Two birdies on the opening two holes for Quiros gave the Spaniard a superb start to the tournament.
And the 31-year-old built on it, adding an eagle at the par-5 13th with two further birdies to card a five-under-par round of 67, having dropped only one shot, at the 10th.
Quiros was happy with his start and believes it shows he is steadily improving.
He said: “It was a good round of golf. It was a bit of a shame on the last par-5 because I was half a metre away from having a great chance to make another eagle.
“My game is improving. You can’t see it yet on the rankings but I have been playing better.”
Dyson, whose last tournament success came in the 2011 KLM Open, carded six birdies, three on the front nine, to keep the pace alongside Quiros, with a bogey on the first the only blot on the Briton’s scorecard.
Five players failed to finish their rounds as fading light meant play was suspended and the leaders do not have much breathing space heading into today’s second round, with Dyson’s compatriots David Hornsey and Tyrrell Hatton just a shot adrift alongside defending champion Brett Rumford.
Australian Rumford said: “There is a long way to go and there are a lot of very good players here this week so I just need to try to keep playing and scoring the way I did over the next two rounds and try to get myself into a position where I have a chance to win coming down the back nine on Sunday. That’s what we’re all trying to do over those first three rounds and in that regard today was very much the start I was looking for.”
World number three Henrik Stenson can overhaul Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings with victory in Shenzen and he started steadily to finish his opening round on one-under par and four shots off the lead.
However, the Swede revealed he has been struggling with illness.
He said: “The body doesn’t feel great, the stomach is upset. I’m not throwing up, but I’m not too keen on eating and my energy levels aren’t the best. But once I got going I felt better than before I teed-off and made it around and actually played all right.”
Other big names Jason Duffner and Ian Poulter had differing days.
American Duffner, ranked 17th in the world, bogeyed three on the back nine to end on one over par, while Poulter tied for ninth on three under par.
Poulter said: “I played nicely – I just had one tee shot that kind of slipped away and bounced into a hazard and I made a bogey there. But apart from that it was a very clean card. I had plenty of chances, rolled a few in and missed a few.”