SHANGHAI: Local favourite Li Haotong returned to form and rode a wave of home support to grab the first-round lead at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai on Thursday.

Li, one of seven Chinese players in the field, carded an eight-under-par 64, capping off his day by sinking a 12-foot par-saving putt at his final hole as the gallery roared in approval at Sheshan International.

Li opened with two birdies and finished the back nine with two birdies. And after his lone mistake on the par-4 first hole, he responded with a 4-iron that set up eagle and led to the loudest cheer of a calm afternoon.

He holds a one-shot advantage over Frenchman Victor Perez, while American defending champion Xander Schauffele, Australian Adam Scott, South Korean Im Sung-jae and Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick are two behind in the World Golf Championships event.

Rory McIlroy had three bogeys on the back nine and was going nowhere at even par until he ran off four straight birdies on the front and got in the mix quick with a 67, while South African Louis Oosthuizen had a hole-in-one from 197 yards at the sixth on the way to a 68.

Phil Mickelson, in danger of falling out of the top 50 for the first time in nearly 26 years, opened with a 71.

Sheshan International is in prime condition with thick rough and firm fairways and greens. It’s a stronger test than in recent years, though the calm conditions allowed for so many low scores. Nearly one-third of the field broke 70.

It was plenty tough for Hideki Matsuyama, who won here in 2016 and is coming off a runner-up finish to Tiger Woods last week in the Zozo Championship in Japan. He managed only two birdies, finished with a double bogey and shot 75, ending a streak of six straight rounds in the 60s.

The event features 15 past Major winners including Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth, but top-ranked Brooks Koepka and a resurgent Woods skipped it.

The WGC-HSBC Champions has a purse of $10.25 million, with $1.7 million going to the winner, and is the third and final leg of the PGA Tour’s Asian swing.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2019