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 The Northern Irishman's blemish-free round, studded with eight
birdies, kept him ahead of Spaniard Carlos Pigem, Taiwan's Chien-yao
Hung and American David Lipsky in the $2 million tournament,
co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.
"We had 10 or 11 holes with not much wind, which was an advantage
teeing off early," five-time European Tour winner Hoey said.
"I hit the ball well, and it suits me that there's a bit of length
off the tee; you can carry a few corners and reach the par fives in
two. It has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card.
 "To be bogey-free and have no fives on the card -- and a course
record -- is a nice start. I'm swinging the club well so hopefully I
can put three more good rounds together and see what happens."
India's Shiv Kapur gave himself a nice birthday present with a
bogey-free round of 66 to sit alone in fifth spot, two strokes
behind the leader.
"It's a nice present. You wake up in the morning hoping for a good
day because you don't want to be grumpy for the rest of the day,"
said Kapur, who turned 33 on Thursday. "I couldn't have asked for a
better result."
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A stroke further adrift were eight players including local hope
Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, who holed
his approach shot on the ninth for an eagle.
The big-hitting Kiradech scorched the course but his round was
spoiled after he found water and a bunker down the 18th for a double
bogey.
(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Justin Palmer)
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