Japan's Kenichi Kuboya and Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei set the early pace during the first round of the Barclays Singapore Open as the in-form duo moved onto three under par in glorious sunshine at Sentosa Golf Club, while World Number Two Phil Mickelson also made a steady start.
World Number 94 Kuboya finished second at last week's Bridgestone Open on the Japan Tour and continued his good form with an eagle at the par five fourth before the 37 year old quickly added a birdie to reach the turn in three under 33.
Kuboya currently sits seventh on the Japan Tour money list after also finishing 27th at The Open Championship at Turnberry in July.
Chan, meanwhile, missed the cut in his first six events on the Asian Tour, but has played into the weekend at his last five and finished 18th at last week's Iskandar Johor Open after claiming fifth at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the start of October.
Starting on the back nine on the picturesque Serapong Course, 32 year old Chan made an ideal start with a birdie at his first hole of the day, the par four tenth, before picking up back-to-back shots around the turn to join Kuboya at the top of the early leaderboard.
Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen, who is currently tenth in The Race to Dubai, sits tied for second alongside Ernie Els at two under during the early stages of their opening rounds, the South African quickly off the mark with two birdies in his opening eight holes. Mickelson, meanwhile, bounced back from an early bogey with an eagle to join a group including Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter tied for fifth at one under.
