Kuala Lumpur: Local hope Iylia Jamil and Masaru Takahashi of Japan got off to flying starts with matching five-under-par 66s to share the opening round lead at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) MIDF KLGCC Masters on Thursday.

The leading duo fired six birdies against a lone bogey to hold a two-shot lead over Chinese Taipei’s Lee Cho-chuan, Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Niall Turner of Ireland at the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) co-sanctioned event.

Malaysian number one  Nicholas Fung and compatriot Shaaban Hussin as well as Thai trio Pijit Petchkasem, Pasamet Pogamnerd and Pasavee Lertvilai, signed for 69s to tie for sixth place at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s East Course.

Iylia, one of the young Malaysians coming through the ranks on the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, credited hard work with his coach Ayoub Oussar, for his solid performance.

“Everything went well today. It’s a course that I’m very familiar with. You have to hit the ball onto the fairways to score. I’ve been working hard with my coach for the past few months and I’m glad to see improvements in my game,” said Iylia.

“My game is getting better. I missed cuts in all five of the ADT events I played earlier this year. However, I managed to make cuts in my last three events on the ADT. I am confident that my game will continue to get better,” he added.

Takahashi credited a hot putter for the joint lead at the tournament, which is the penultimate event on the ADT’s 2013 schedule.

“The course is in a great condition. Everything seems to go my way today. It was a little bit windy but overall, it’s good. I’m happy with how I played. My putting was good too. Hopefully I can carry on my good form tomorrow,” said the 27-year-old Japanese.

In-form Lee is confident of playing well in the next few rounds as he mastered the art of scoring on this course. “You have to hit good tee shots to play well on this golf course. I didn’t start well today but my iron play and putting were great.

“I had a couple of chances for birdies on the back nine. I should be able to do well in the next few days if I can continue to hit the ball onto the fairways,” said the 39-year-old.

Fung, who is currently second on the ADT Order of Merit, was happy to be in the title mix. “The course is in a great condition. It will be tough if you miss the fairways but I managed to keep my ball in play. However, my iron shots were bad today. I need to work on that,” said the Sabahan.

Leading first round scores (Malaysian unless stated):
66 – Masaru Takahashi (JPN), Mohd Iylia Jamil
68 – Lee Cho-chuan (TWN), Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA), Niall Turner (IRL)
69 – Pijit Pethckasem (THA), Nicholas Fung, Pasamet Pogamnerd (THA), Pasavee Lertvilai (THA), Shaaban Hussin (MAS)
70 – Wasin Sripattranusorn (THA), Somsak Kappratum (THA)
71 – Jake Stirling (AUS), Tseng Hong-sheng (TWN), Arie Fauzi, Lee Shih-hung (TWN), Huang Hsiang-hao (TWN), Supravee Phatam (THA), Shaifubari Muda, Koh Deng Shan (SIN), Akhmal Tarmizee Nazari, Rizal Amin