Singapore Open: The big names failed to sparkle at the Singapore Open as Ernie Els, Paul McGinley, Lee Westwood and defending champion Adam Scott found themselves trailing behind a Filipino rookie.

Juvic Pagunsan shot a four-under-par 67 to share the lead with Australian Scott Strange after the opening round of the Asian Tour event, which is being played at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course.

India's Jyoti Randhawa was third after an opening 68, a shot ahead of a group of five that included Argentina's Angel Cabrera, Japan's Shingo Katayama, Australians Scott Barr and Nick O'Hern, and South African amateur Christopher Joseph.

Scott was a further stroke behind on one under, Els was at even par and former US Open winner Michael Campbell was one over.

Westwood was two over while Ryder Cup team-mate McGinley was in danger of missing the cut after a five-over-par 76, which included five consecutive bogeys from the third. He finished with his only birdie, at the par five 18th.

It was Pagunsan who stole the show with the only bogey-free round of the day on the unforgiving Serapong layout.

The Manila native missed only two fairways during his round and holed a pair of 12-foot putts at the 11th and 13th.

"It's nice to be leading among the stars and I'll take it one shot at a time," said the 28-year-old, who turned professional at the start of the year.

"Before the start of the round, I was quite nervous as this is our biggest tournament on the Asian Tour and it took me a while to settle down."

Strange, meanwhile, bogeyed his opening hole but came back with a round that included six birdies.

The 29-year-old Asian Tour regular, who won the Philippines Open this year, got a fortunate break at his penultimate hole, the par-three 17th, when he put his tee-shot into the bunker, but holed out from 18 feet with his sandwedge.

"I was lucky in some spots; I hit it close some holes and holed some putts," said the Australian.

"You need a bit of luck out there. If you miss the fairway, you need a good lie and if you do not get a good lie, it is a case of hitting it sideways.

"The rough in some spots is not too bad, but in other spots it is pretty bad."

Strange's view on the rough was shared by compatriot Scott, who began the defence of his title with an up-and-down round that included five birdies and four bogeys.

"It was tough conditions out there; with the rough you cannot miss fairways," said the world number six.

"It's not easy to get it going out there really unless you are hitting a lot of good shots. I am pretty happy with one under."

For Els, the problem was not the rough but his putting.

"I hit a lot of quality shots on the back nine but could not buy a putt," said the South African, whose round of 71 featured four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.

"It was very frustrating, as I hit the ball very nice. I hit a lot of fairways and greens but never got anything out of it."

Despite his frustrations, Els has not given up hope of his first title since the Dunhill Championship last December.

"It's the first round and you don't win a golf tournament on the first day," said the world number seven. "I just need to get into position by hitting quality shots."

The Singapore Open is the richest national open in Asia with a total purse of US$3 million.