Jeju-do, South Korea; May 19: OneAsia Order of Merit leader Andre Stolz (pic) outshone Players Championship winner K.J. Choi to take a one shot lead over the veteran Korean and fellow Australian Scott Arnold after the first round of the SK Telecom Open today.

Indonesia PGA Championship winner Stolz overcame the notorious crosswind at Pinx Golf Club to ship just a solitary bogey for a round of six-under-par 66 to set the pace in the US$1 million OneAsia event.

World number 15 Choi who was this lethargic after arriving straight from Florida on Tuesday after beating American David Toms in a play-off at TPC Sawgrass was pleasantly surprised to post a 67 to join Arnold two shots clear of a group of four players.

“I played great early on,” said 41-year-old Stolz. “It was tough with the wind and with some flags which were not many paces on. While you were also hitting against a wind which felt like a hurricane which made it hard to get on, but I was able to hit some pretty good shots.

“I hit some loose drives on the back nine, but all in all I am very happy with the day.”

After returning to the winners circle in Jakarta at the end of March, seasoned professional Stolz finished 41st at the Volvo China Open before missing the cut two weeks ago in the  Seoul.

But with his lead at the top of the Order of Merit under threat from GS Caltex Maekyung Open champion Kim Kyung-tae, Stolz’s only first round blemish came with a three putt bogey on the front nine before making amends by starting his second circuit with a timely eagle.

“I played great at Maekyung, but it was the first time I played there and I didn’t know what I was doing. I played good, but a crazy course got the better of me that week,” he added.

“It is also the first time I have played this course and I only played it once during the practice round on Tuesday, but it looks great. It’s windy like Australia and pretty firm and fast so it is chalk and cheese compared to the last one we played in Seoul.”

After posting a fourth consecutive top 10 finish with his win last week, birthday boy Choi recovered from an early bogey after a wayward drive landed in a bush with six gains in nine holes around the turn to sit ideally placed to mount a challenge for a fourth SK Telecom Open crown.

“It was a tough round because of the wind, but I was able to use it to my advantage,” said Choi, won the title in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

“Considering the jet lag, because it’s still early in the morning in Jacksonville, I feel tired but the galleries cheered me up and gave me more energy and made sure I kept going until the end.

“Five under is more than I expected because two under would have been a good round. I didn’t think I would play well because I have only just arrived from the Players Championship and I normally I need three days’ rest,” said the 41-year-old.

Former world number one amateur Arnold has missed the cut on all three OneAsia outings this season, but also dropped just one bogey during his hard-fought 67.  “I am very pleased because it is tough. I missed a couple of makeable birdie putts on my back nine, but made a couple of 40 foot putts on the front nine which was nice,” said the 25-year-old.

“I played well at Maekyung, but just had a terrible second round. But I did some good work at home last week and it is nice to see that the score reflects how I played.”

Korean duo Nam Young-woo and Park Sang-hyun and Australian duo Leigh McKechnie and Adam Crawford opened with rounds of 69 to sit tied for fourth, with a group of four a shot further adrift including GS Caltex Maekyung Open champion Kim.

Leading first round scores
66 – Andre Stolz (AUS)
67 – Scott Arnold (AUS), KJ Choi (KOR)
69 – Nam Young-woo (KOR), Leigh McKechnie (AUS), Park Sang-hyun (KOR), Adam Crawford (AUS)
70 – Guido Van Der Valk (NED), Kim Kyung-tae (KOR), Kim Hyung-tae (KOR), Lee Ki-sang (KOR)
71 – Kim Seung-hyuk (KOR), Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), Brad Shilton (NZL), Scott Laycock (AUS), Kurt Barnes (AUS), Mitchell Brown (AUS), Andrew Tschudin (AUS), Paul Spargo (AUS), Craig Scott (AUS), Ashley Hall (AUS)

Source: www.oneasia.asia