新浪体育讯　March 19, 2009: Former martial arts champion Wu Weihuang made the most of local knowledge and the support of his wife to shoot a bogey-free, six-under 66 for a one-stroke lead in the first round of the RMB1 million Dell Championship in Xiamen, the opening event of the Omega China Tour’s fifth season。

　　Kunming-based Chen Jian surprised even himself with a 67, while Asian Tour star Alex Wu Ashun posted a 69 to share third place with Omega Championship winner Zhou Jun, Wang Xu and teenage talents James Su Dong, 19, and Korean Eom Jae-woong, 18。

　　Chinese Taipei stars Lu Wen-teh and Lin Keng-chi, making his Tour debut, both shot 70 to tie for eighth with Kong Weihai and 23-year-old American C.J. Gatto, winner of last month’s Qualifying School for foreign PGA members。

　　Zhang Lianwei shot a 71 while defending champion Li Chao finished level-par as he seeks a third successive win at the Orient (Xiamen) Golf and Country Club。

　　The 40-year-old Wu, whose 17-year-old son Jianlong is competing as an invite of the host venue, birdied the last two holes to overtake Chen at the top of the leaderboard

　　“I played really well because I’ve played here often and have even shot a 65 before,” said Wu, a prominent Xiamen-based businessman who only took up golf in his late 20s. “Even when I drove into the water hazard on the par-five fifth, I saved par, which I was happy about。”

　　Wu’s son Jianlong opened with a 78, an impressive return for the schoolboy amateur playing in a professional event for the first time。

　　“I’m not worried about Jianlong’s scores. He’s just here to learn,” said Wu senior, who was then asked who his wife should watch at the weekend if father and son were to make the cut. “That would be up to her,” he laughed。

　　Chen, whose only top-10 finish on Tour was in 2005, attributed his five-under-par score to the limited facilities at his new golf club, Dianchi Weichang, where he moved during the winter。

　　“It doesn’t have a driving range, only a putting green, so that’s why I’ve been practising my chipping and putting so much. I chipped great today, so it’s working,” said the 33-year-old。

　　Wu Ashun was the centre of attention for much of the afternoon after shooting five birdies on the front nine to make the turn in 31, but the 23-year-old Fujian native bogeyed both par-threes on the back nine to drop back into the chasing pack。

　　Su, who teed off on hole 10, played in a high-profile morning flight with Lin Keng-chi and Li Chao and looked set to finish on four-under before three-putting his last hole。

　　“I played all right considering I had a stomach ache all day due to food poisoning last night. I actually only used 50-60 per cent of my power, compared to my usual 80 per cent, and surprisingly it worked,” said the Canadian-educated 19-year-old。

　　“It was great playing with Li Chao and Lin Keng-chi, as it forced me to raise my game. I learnt a lot from them. Lin has a great short game, especially his chipping. I think if he starts putting better, he could shoot some low scores. This is a guy who has shot 59 before。”

　　Known as ‘Lin The Pin’ on his way to winning the 1995 Asian Tour Order of Merit, the 43-year-old returned the praise on his young playing partner。

　　“Su Dong played very well and he has a great swing,” said Lin, who has split his career between the Asian Tour and Japan。

　　“It’s great to finally play here as I’ve heard a lot about the Omega China Tour from the other Chinese Taipei players, so I wanted to try it for myself. I’m really impressed with the professionalism of the whole set-up。”

　　Li’s defence of his title began steadily until he racked up a double-bogey on the par-five fifth following a snap-hooked tee-shot, but the tall 28-year-old rescued his score with birdies on his last two holes, eight and nine。

　　This year’s champion will walk away with the winner’s cheque of RMB180,000 and a new Dell Latitude XT2 tablet PC, an upgrade of the XT version presented to Li last year。

　　Dell will also present the runner-up with a Latitude E4200 notebook and the third-placed finisher with a Latitude E4300, and award a Latitude E4200 to the first player to record a hole-in-one during the tournament。