|
 Randhawa, 42, began with a bogey but went on to reel off seven
birdies to lead Angelo Que of the Philippines by one shot, needing
only 23 putts in the opening round of the European Tour
co-sanctioned event.
"I've been playing decent in the last few weeks but haven't been
able to put up a good number," said the 2002 Asian Tour number one
from India who finished with two consecutive closing birdies for a
six-under-par 64.
"Today I really putted my heart out, so I'm really happy with the
way it went, and I'm glad I got the pace on the greens right," said
Randhawa, who remains winless since claiming his eighth Asian Tour
title in 2009.
A three-time winner in Asia, Que too rode on his impeccable putting
to a bogey-free round to boost his hopes of a first title since the
2010 Selangor Masters in Malaysia.
 "I putted like a maniac today. I holed a lot of six footers for pars
on the first few holes then I started to hit it better and holed a
few more putts. I haven't had a bogey free round this year and it is
already October," said the 35-year-old.
Big-hitting Colsaerts shrugged off jetlag to card a four-under par
66 to share the third place with, among others, four-time major
winner Els.
"I'm quite happy with my score," said the Belgian Ryder Cup player,
continuing his fine form that saw him finish fourth in Wales and
second in Portugal in his last two starts.
"I'm waking up in the middle of the night - I didn't do a very good
job with the jetlag so I think I'm going to be waking up early most
of the week but it's fine," added Colsaerts after sinking five
birdies against a lone bogey.
[to top of second column] |
Els mixed six birdies and two bogeys in his return to Hong Kong
after 18 years and was left to rue the missed putts.
"You want to have a good round the first day. It's easy to shoot
yourself out of it," said the towering South African.
"At first there's quite a lot of pressure and then you take it from
there. Each day, it's like a session in cricket. You take the
session and do as best as you can, and then it all happens on Sunday
afternoon," he said.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, looking for a record fifth
title here, battled a stomach bug to card two-over par 72.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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