Fraser and Mamat share lead

Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and Australia’s Marcus Fraser shared the lead at the end of round one of the OSIM Singapore Masters.

The pair carded seven-under rounds of 65 to lie two clear of the field, and four ahead of defending champion Nick Dougherty.

Englishman Dougherty was left a little frustrated by his inability to live with the searing pace of the leaders.

But, in joint 10th, he was still in a better position than the other favourites for the event, Sweden’s Niclas Fasth, who finished with a 75, and Thai Thongchai Jaidee, one stroke worse off after a 76.

Dougherty was left to rue missed opportunities and dropped shots.

“I made a couple of sloppy putts and I didn’t hit it as well as I would have liked,” he said.

“I didn’t play very well, so it is encouraging that I managed to score when not playing that great.”

Dougherty’s day started inauspiciously with a bogey five at the 10th, but it was the only dropped shot in his round until another arrived at the sixth.

He righted his early wrong with a birdie and also picked up shots at the 15th and 17th for a back-nine 34. A birdie on his last hole added gloss to an otherwise hit-and-miss first day.

Local favourite Mamat, playing with Dougherty and India’s Jyoti Randhawa, shot five birdies and only one bogey on his back nine, and birdies at the sixth, eighth and ninth moved him clear of the field.

Fraser made 33 on the way out, and an eagle at the 15th moved him level with Mamat, who had held the clubhouse lead for much of the day.

The leaders were two ahead of Australian pair Wade Ormsby and Unho Park and Thailand duo Prayad Marksaeng and Boonchu Ruangkit.

Fasth, the highest-ranked player at the event, was unable to get to grips with a course that caught a few players out on the opening day.

His front-nine 38 left him two over, which he followed up with a bogey at the 10th.

Three birdies in four holes looked to have stopped the rot, but he bogeyed the last and so must start his second round 10 shots off the lead.

Jaidee’s round never got going, and his back nine culminated in a seven at the par-four 18th to leave him with a mountain to climb.

Simon Dyson, the winner last time out in Indonesia, was not at the races after admitting to fatigue, although he wound up only one over.

Paul Broadhurst also struggled on his first day with an erratic display. Starting at the 10th, the Englishman shot three birdies on the back nine as well as a bogey and a double bogey.

He then made two bogeys in a row at the second and third, then birdie-bogey-birdied his closing three holes, labouring to a one-over total of 73.

Gary Murphy is best of the Irish on three-under. David Higgins is one-under, with Peter Lawrie on level par.

Damien McGrane is off the pace on two-over, with Michael Hoey a shot further back on three-over.