Hong Kong, 15 February 2011: Hong Kong-based Englishman Nick Redfern shot a five under par 67 to assume the outright lead in the opening round of the Volvo China Open International Qualifying at Discovery Bay Golf Club today. Redfern leads by two shots from leading Taiwanese amateur Hung Chien-yao and Shenzhen-based American C. J. Gatto. Gatto recorded seven birdies in his round of 69 while Hung, 18, enjoyed the only bogey-free round of the day.
Hung played in the international qualifier here two years ago but failed to gain the fourth and final spot after losing out in a four-way play-off.
“I learned a lot from that event and it made me a better player,” said Hung, who has been the leading Taiwanese amateur for the past three years and is currently the 26th ranked amateur in the world.
“It would be very special for me to gain a place in the Volvo China Open and I’ll do my very best tomorrow to shoot another sub-par round,” added Hung. “I’ve been offered a full scholarship to a Californian university and winning through to Chengdu would be the icing on the cake for me.”
Gatto, 25, bogeyed the third, seventh and 11th holes but stayed focused despite the rain and wind that made playing conditions difficult. “The rain actually softened the greens so I knew that if I could keep hitting it close a lot of birdies were there to be made,” said the Columbus, Ohio native.
Korea’s Kim Hyung-woo assumed the clubhouse lead on two under par after making three birdies in his final six holes, and was joined later by Taiwanese veteran Tsai Chi-huang, who qualified here in 2008
Top Singaporean amateur Lam Zhiqun looked set to lead the field after reaching the 16th at three under par following a spectacular hole-in-one on the second hole.
However an over-hit tee shot on the par-three 17th resulted in a bogey four and Lam then hit his drive out-of-bounds on the par-five 18th but managed to bogey the hole despite his errant tee shot.
Jimmy Ko Ming-chi is the leading Hong Kong player after the first round following a creditable score of one under par 71, made up of two birdies and one bogey.
Redfern, 38, needed only 25 putts on the Discovery Bay greens described by most players in the 72-strong field as "superb".
"I used a brand new putter today as I arrived in Hong Kong late on Monday night from Thailand, and I didn't even get to practice with it," said Redfern, who is well on course to claim one of the four spots on offer for a place in the US$3 million Volvo China Open which will be played at Luxehills International Country Club from 21 to 24 of April.
“I played a OneAsia event at Luxehills last year but failed to make the cut. This actually turned out to be something of a blessing as I then spent the weekend at the panda sanctuary in Chengdu,” which was absolutely fantastic,” he said.
The Volvo China Open offers a prize purse of RMB20,000,000 and is just one of 13 already confirmed tournaments on the OneAsia schedule. The Asia Pacific-based elite tournament destination aims to stage a total of 15 to 17 tournaments across the region for its leading players in its 2011 season.
Leading scores: 67 - Nick Redfern (England), 69 - C.J. Gatto (USA), Hung Chien-yao [A] (Taiwan), 70 – Kim Hyung-woo (Korea), Tsai Chi-huang (Taiwan), 71 – Lam Zhiqun [A] (Singapore), Huang Wen-yi (China) Kim Ok-chun (Korea), Kim Woo-yun (Korea), Peter Richardson (England), Jimmy Ko Ming-chi (Hong Kong), Chen Jian.
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For more information please visit http://qualifying.volvochinaopen.com
