While Justin Rose and Ian Poulter grabbed most of the attention on day one of the UBS Hong Kong Open, the battle to safeguard a place on the European Tour has given the final regular event of the season an added layer of intrigue.
Scott Jamieson is the Scotsman in the most peril on the order of merit at No 106, with the leading 110 maintaining their place at the top table, and the Glasgow man began a nervy week with a one-over 71 to finish seven shots off the early pace set by Wei-Chih Lu and Andrea Pavan.
Jamieson will be keeping an eye on those around him. Prom Meesawat, the Thai golfer who currently occupies 110th place, gave himself an early lift with a 67 to sit on the fringes of the top-10 while Renato Paratore, the Italian youngster who sits just a place behind Jamieson at No 107, suffered a tour card-threatening disqualification at the worst possible time. Chris Paisley, perched at 108th on the money list opened with a 70, two shots better than Seve Benson, who sits at No 109. Stirling’s Craig Lee, who hauled himself to the brink of safety with a super finish in last week’s Portugal Masters, finished alongside Jamieson on the one-over mark.
“I know that I can miss the cut and keep my card and then I can also make the cut and people could pass me and I lose my card,” said Jamieson, who was one-under through 13 holes but slipped back with a double-bogey six on the 14th. “I do have the feeling if I make the cut here I should be ok.”
David Drysdale leads the Scottish challenge after a two-under 68 with Thailand-based Glasgow exile Simon Yates a stroke further back.
At the head of affairs, Rose lived up to his billing as pre-tournament favourite with a five-under 65 while his Ryder Cup team-mate Poulter ensured his last-minute dash to the far east was not a wasted journey with a three-under card.
Poulter only arrived in Hong Kong at 7pm on Wednesday after a baffling turn of events which could have cost him his European Tour membership and scuppered his future Ryder Cup ambitions.
Poulter looked like he would fail to fulfil the 13 event requirement for tour membership until Rich Beem, the former US PGA champion, generously gave up his own tournament invitation and offered it to the Englishman. Poulter still needed to make a frantic trek from his Florida base to Hong Kong and in the fraught circumstances his 67 was a fine effort.
Rose’s neatly assembled 65 included five birdies while Graeme McDowell, the former US Open champion, posted a 66 to lurk two shots off the lead.
In a tie for top spot is Pavan, the Italian who languishes down in 191st place on the money list. He would need a win or a second place to save his tour card this week but a 64 gave him the ideal start in his bid to conjure a great escape.
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