Cheng Ka-yiu put himself in a great position to earn a berth at December's Hong Kong Open with a fine 71 in the first round of the qualifying tournament at the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau's fearsome Gary Player-designed North Course on Thursday.
Cheng, who turned pro in 2005 but has yet to qualify for Hong Kong's national Open, holds a two-shot lead over Kau Sai Chau's Head Professional Paul Riley (73) in second place. Veteran James Stewart (pictured) and Timothy Tang occupy the remaining two qualifying spots after matching 74s.
Discovery Bay Golf Club member Ron Totton and Winston Wu lead the amateur charge after the pair shot 76s to lie in a share of sixth, with Steven Lam, runner-up at last week's Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship, a further shot back in a tie for ninth.
It wasn't such a good day for Liu Lok-tin, however. Eighteen-year-old Liu, the 2010 Hong Kong Amateur Close and Open winner, joined the paid ranks last month but could only manage an 82 on his professional debut to leave himself with a mountain to climb in Friday's final round.
Liu's lacklustre showing was nothing compared to Joeson Chung's day at the office, though. The HKPGA professional put in a performance he'd rather forget, shooting a calamitous 97 to prop up the 39-man field by 9 shots.
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