Richard Sterne hopes his decision to take a more relaxed approach to the UBS Hong Kong Open can pay dividends and bring an end to an inconsistent year on the European Tour.
The 27-year-old South African could not have started 2008 better after capturing his third European Tour victory at the Joburg Open in January.
Sterne failed to carry momentum from that win into the rest of the year as he managed just one top-20 finish in 18 tournaments.
But he made a solid start to the new season with joint 20th at the HSBC Champions and on Thursday carded a six-under-par 64 to share the first-round lead in Hong Kong with China's Liang Wen-chong.
Sterne, who was introduced to golf by his grandmother at the age of four, hopes tweaks to his game will bear fruit come Sunday.
"I hit 10 greens a round on average last season," he said. "That is not quite ideal for scoring so I have made it tough.
"I have been driving the ball okay but you just can't compete when you are not hitting more than 13, 14 greens a round.
"Right now, I don't get too fazed anymore. I think I have found a few right things here and there. This is the first week I am trying it so we'll see what happens."
Liang, meanwhile, is hoping to become the first Asian player in a decade to win the tournament.
The 30-year-old was well placed to take the outright lead after seven birdies but then three-putted his last hole for a bogey.
"I will try to be patient over the next three days and just try to play my best," said the 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner.
"The golf course is very short but the fairways are narrow and you have to be careful each day and each fairway."
Sterne and Liang are one shot ahead of Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang and Frankie Minoza of the Philippines.
Oliver Wilson was the highest-placed Briton after carding a four-under-par 66 and the Ryder Cup star is feeling confident about securing an elusive first professional win.
"I feel like I know how to win around this course," said the 28-year-old, who lost a play-off to Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia in the HSBC Champions.
"I feel like I can get into contention. If I can stay up there all week then I feel like I am getting closer."
Two-time major winner John Daly almost completed an impressive round after the American approached the eighth - his 17th - at four under.
However, the 42-year-old carded successive bogeys to return to the clubhouse at two under.
"I'm not too disappointed, being a little rusty," said Daly. "I have not played in a month and I think under par in the first round is pretty good and I'll take it."
Colin Montgomerie also shot a 68 to keep himself in the hunt for a second Hong Kong victory in three years.
"It is a good course. Anything in the top 20 on the first day means we are doing okay," he said. "I'm looking forward to coming out tomorrow morning and getting a good round under my belt."
Nick Faldo, playing in his first professional tournament in over a year, finished two over par while Simon Griffiths hit a hole-in-one with a nine iron from 144 yards on the par-three 12th to earn himself a solid gold bar worth around Ј16,000.
Collated first round scores in the European Tour UBS Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70):
64 Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Richard Sterne (Rsa)
65 Frankie Minoza (Phi), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai)
66 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe), Oliver Wilson, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha)
67 Peter Hanson (Swe), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Rick Kulacz (Aus), Artemio-hiromasa Murakami (Phi), Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha), Oliver Fisher, Marcus Fraser (Aus)
68 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Wen Teh Lu (Tpe), Johan Edfors (Swe), John Daly (USA), Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Darren Beck (Aus), Colin Montgomerie, Scott Drummond, Chris Rodgers, Marcus Both (Aus), Iain Steel (Mal), David Dixon, Angelo Que (Phi), Gavin Flint (Aus)
69 Christian Cevaer (Fra), Bernhard Langer (Ger), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Young-Woo Nam (Kor), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Ben Leong (Mal), David Frost (Rsa), Pablo Larrazabal (Spa), Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Taco Remkes (Ned), Paul Lawrie, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor), Joong Kyung Mo (Kor), Bradley Dredge
70 Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Yasin Ali, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Roderick De lacy staunton (Hkg), Simon Griffiths, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor), Anthony Kang (USA), Lee Slattery, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi), Scott Hend (Aus), Rory McIlroy, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg), Jong Yul Suk (Kor), Antonio Lascuna (Phi), Airil Rizman (Mal), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), David Horsey, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), Mark Brown (USA), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Tony Carolan (Aus), Amandeep Johl (Ind), David Bransdon (Aus), Peter O'Malley (Aus)
71 Anders Hansen (Den), Unho Park (Aus), Simon Dyson, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Daniel Chopra (Swe), Scott Barr (Aus), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), Niclas Fasth (Swe), Markus Brier (Aut), Sam Little, Keng-chi Lin (Tai), Sattaya Supupramai (Tha), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Michael Campbell (Nzl), Graeme McDowell, Gareth Maybin, Phillip Price, Scott Strange (Aus), David Lynn, Martin Rominger (Swi), Gary Simpson (Aus), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Paul McGinley, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
72 Nick Faldo, Zaw Moe (Kor), Mars Pucay (Phi), Anthony Wall, Michael Jonzon (Swe), Gregory Havret (Fra), Shiv Kapur (Ind), David Gleeson (Aus), Paul Waring, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn), Chih-bing Lam (Sin), Paul Broadhurst, Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn), Phillip Archer, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Mark Foster, Simon Hurd
73 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Robert Rock, Stephen Scahill (Nzl), Jean Van de velde (Fra), Keith Horne (Rsa), Miles Tunnicliff, Adam Blyth (Aus), Digvijay Singh (Ind)
74 Steve Webster, Marcel Siem (Ger), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind), Adam Groom (Aus), Simon Wakefield, Simon Khan, Prom Meesawat (Tha), Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), Arjun Atwal (Ind), Steven Lam (Hkg), David Freeman (Hkg)
75 Sung Lee (Kor), Jamie Donaldson, Matthew Mcbain (Aus)
76 Paul Riley, Richard Lee (Can)
78 Derek Fung (Hkg), James Stewart, Emanuele Canonica (Ita)
79 Jovick Lee (Hkg)
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