On a day when all five Irish players in the field broke the 70 mark, KJ Choi gave himself the ideal platform to build his assault on his second European Tour international schedule title when he moved into the lead after the first round of the UBS Hong Kong Open.
The 39-year-old, who created history when he became the first Korean golfer to win on the European Tour when he claimed the 2003 German Masters, opened with a superb, eight-under-par 62 at the Hong Kong Golf Club to lead the way by a shot from Welshman Garry Houston.
Scoring was as hot as the sunshine which blessed the Fanling venue, and two Swedes were next in the pecking order - Robert Karlsson and Fredrik Andersson Hed opening with six-under-par 64s.
Gary Murphy is best of the Irish after shooting three birdies on each nine in a 66. Graeme McDowell is on 67 after halves of 33 and 34, while Paul McGinley, after a slow start, shot four birdies on the back nine for 68.
Damien McGrane and Rory McIlroy are on one-under-par 69.
McGrane bogeyed the first but fired four birdies in an outward 31 before a double bogey at the 10th slowed down his march.
McIlroy was also in top form over the first nine. The tour rookie eagled the third and birdied the fifth and seventh in reaching the turn in 30. But a double bogey at the 16th and dropped shots at the 10th and 15th saw him lose ground on the leaders before a birdie at the 17th got him under par again.
However, the first day was all about Choi. The man who is nicknamed The Tank showed exactly why as he steamrolled the course into submission with nine birdies - including five in a row from the 12th - to more than offset his only bogey of the day which came at the testing, 474-yard par-four ninth hole.
Second-placed Houston paid tribute to Thomas Bjorn for inspiring the Welshman's seven-under-par 63 opening round.
Houston produced his second-best finish on the European Tour Order of Merit last season despite enduring a disappointing climax in October which saw the 38-year-old miss three cuts at the Dunhill Links Championship, Portugal Masters and Mallorca Classic, having been forced to retire from the Open de Madrid Valle Romano.
Houston puts his success down to a practice round meeting with Bjorn, who was recently elected as chairman of the powerful European Tournament Committee.
"I played with Thomas Bjorn on Tuesday in practice and he gave me a couple of tips that I haven't been doing and I took it out there today and that got me round, so I should really thank Thomas for that," said Houston.
"It was just a little trigger really, where my weight was going into my right leg on the backswing. I couldn't feel it but he could spot it.
"I'm very much looking forward to the next few days. I'm off early tomorrow morning and I'll see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully I can carry the form of today through to the weekend."
Houston is on course to make a return to weekend action after following up a solid opening nine holes, where he had several opportunities to add to the three birdies, with a run of three holes after the turn where he picked up shots.
He added another two quick birdies to head down the last at eight under par before falling victim of the sloping Fanling greens with a three-putt bogey.
"I missed maybe two or three makable putts on the back nine, my front nine, but I made a couple of saves as well so it swings and roundabouts," he added.
"I suppose eight under on the 17th tee was fair. That hasn't been how my game has been going recently, I wish it was."
