Golf: Olazabal takes early lead in Hong Kong

Jose Maria Olazabal’s brilliant form continued this morning with a vintage display in the Omega Hong Kong Open at Fanling.

Olazabal was optimistic that he had finally found a cure for his wayward driving after finishing second in the BMW Asian Open last week, just one shot behind winner Jarmo Sandelin.

And that optimism looked well founded after a blistering start to his first round in Hong Kong this morning which saw the Spaniard charge to the top of the leaderboard.

Four birdies on the front nine took him out in 31 and three more accrued at the 11th, 12th and 14th lifted the double US Masters champion to seven under par and one shot clear of the field.

Playing partner Adam Scott was equally - if not more - spectacular with six birdies and an eagle, including playing a four-hole stretch around the turn in five under, but two bogeys from the young Australian kept him one shot behind Olazabal on six under.

Local professional James Stewart had set the clubhouse target on six under much earlier in the day after being in the second group out at 7.14am local time, but there were plenty of challengers close behind on a day of low scoring at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Yorkshire’s Simon Dyson had made a solid start to the defence of his title with a first round 67 while New Zealand’s Michael Campbell went one better with a 66.

Dyson’s victory here 12 months ago was his third of the season and clinched the Asian Tour Order of Merit title for the 23-year-old.

After gaining his card with an eight-foot birdie putt on the 108th and final hole in the qualifying school a few weeks later, Dyson went on to finish 87th on the European Tour in 2001 with two top-10 finishes.

That meant he kept his card for the 2002 season - which officially started last week in the BMW Asian Open - but it was a largely disappointing year after such superb performances in Asia.

‘‘That’s more like what I can play like,’’ Dyson said after four birdies and no bogeys in his 67.

‘‘That was just the start I wanted. I haven’t shot under par for a couple of tournaments.

‘‘It just feels great when you play a course you’ve won on before you remember all the shots you hit last year and seem to hit them again.

‘‘It’s great and I really enjoyed it out there. Four rounds like that I’d be a happy lad. Last year I had rounds of 64, 67, 68 and 64 so that’s my 67, I just need a couple of 64s and a 68.

‘‘The course is playing a bit tougher, it was blowing a gale on the third tee, but the wind dropped towards the end.’’

Campbell was less happy, however, despite his five-under-par 67 carrying on his good form from last week where a last round 66 lifted him to sixth place.

‘‘I played great today from tee to green but the last four or five holes I didn’t really convert my birdie chances,’’ said Campbell, who finished sixth last week after a closing 66 in Taiwan.

‘‘My last hole (the ninth) is playing a driver and then six-iron for a par five and to make par there is disappointing really. But it’s a good start to the week after a solid finish to last week.

‘‘It’s nice to get off to a good start and after last week as well I’m pretty confident with the way things are going right now. I’m not getting too excited, it’s only the first round, but I’ll get excited the last nine holes of the tournament.’’

Campbell was among five players on five under including England’s Mark Foster who topped the Challenge Tour rankings this year.