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O'Malley leads after Asian Open first round

24/04/2008

Peter O'Malley is the early leader at the Asian Open in Shanghai after his five-under-par first round of 67 put him top of the leaderboard.

The Australian's only dropped shot of the day came at the 18th - his ninth hole of the day after teeing off from the tenth – where he made a five at the par four.

But six birdies on his round, including back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth; tenth and 11th; and 15th and 16th holes give him a one-shot lead over the chasing pack.

England's Oliver Wilson is on four under par alongside Finland's Mikko Ilonen, Sweden's Henrik Stenson and India's Jeev Milkha Singh, with another Australian - Scott Hend - on three under par in sixth place overall.

A seven-player group sits a further shot behind on two under par, including another Englishman Robert Dinwiddie.

Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke is still in contention after a one-under-par first round of 71 – a score he shared with a host of other players including fellow Britons Andrew Coltart of Scotland and Ross McGowan and Paul Broadhurst of England.