THE CANADIAN PRESS
HONG KONG — K.J. Choi felt right at home on the opening day of the Hong Kong Open.
The South Korean opened with an 8-under-par 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Welshman Garry Houston. Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., was seven shots back after shooting a 69.
Choi said the greens in Hong Kong were very similar to what he had been practising on recently.
"A lot of players had a tough time reading the greens, but I was quite comfortable out there and my putting was solid throughout." said Choi, who finished second here in 2005.
Swedes Fredrik Andersson Hed and Robert Karlsson had a share of third place at 6-under, with Scotland’s Barry Hume, Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and South Korea’s Kang Wook-soon another shot back at 5-under.
Trailing further behind was a stellar field including two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen and defending champion Jose Manuel Lara, who were both at 1-under. Stuart Appelby of Australia and South Africa’s Trevor Immelman were at 1-over after opening rounds of 71.