BEIJING, October 9, 2014 (AFP) - A group of four were one stroke back at Nanshan International golf club, including home players Li Haotong and Zhou Guowu, along with Australian Adam Stephens and Nick Gillespie from New Zealand, who birdied four of the first five holes but then hit a double-bogey at the sixth.
"I have spent the last five weeks at home with the wife so it was a bit hard to get going but I made a solid start," said Gibson, 28, who set a world record with a 16-under-par 55 in 2012.
He played the third round of this year's Open championship with Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth after making the cut, and added: "That experience has really helped my confidence."
Li, only 19, could have joined the leading pair but dropped a shot on the 18th.
China's Guan Tianlang, the 15-year-old amateur who made the cut in last year's US Masters, was one over after carding a 72.
It is the fourth edition of the $1 million OneAsia event.
Leading scores after round 1:
67 - Rhein Gibson (AUS), Daniel Woltman (USA).
68 - Nick Gillespie (NZL), Zhou Guowu (CHN), Adam Stephens (AUS), Li Haotong (CHN).
69 - Park Chan-Hee (KOR), Xie Zhi (CHN), Michael Long (NZL), Lee Jun Seok (AUS), Hu Mu (CHN), Park Deuk-Hee (KOR), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Scott Laycock (AUS), Gareth Paddison (NZL).