Australia's Kalem Richardson fired an eight-under-par 63 to lead by one shot over Padraig Harrington of Ireland after the first round of the Bank BRI Indonesia Open on Thursday.
Richardson, who has achieved two top-five results in his last three events, rolled in eight birdies to steal the limelight from Harrington, who is making his debut at the $750,000 Asian Tour event.
The three-time Major champion produced his best score in 2014 with a 64 after birdieing his first two holes from close range at the Damai Indah Golf-PIK Course close to the capital Jakarta.
Australia's Adam Groom battled through a leg infection to score a 67 and tie in third place alongside India's Arjun Atwal, Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand and Bryce Easton of South Africa.
Starting from the 10th tee, Richardson stayed sharp on his first nine holes, which he said was because he had not played that stretch during the practice round, and was rewarded with four straight birdies.
"I guess when you haven't played the back nine, you concentrate more because you don't know where you are going. You really need to rely on the yardage book and good advice from your caddy," said the 26-year-old.
Leading scores after round one of the Bank BRI Indonesia Open:
63 - Kalem Richardson (AUS)
64 - Padraig Harrington (IRL)
67 - Adam Groom (AUS), Bryce Easton (RSA), Arjun Atwal (IND), Thanyakon Khrongpha (THA)
68 - Danny Chia (MAS), Rahil Gangjee (IND), Sam Brazel (AUS), S.S.P Chowrasia (IND), Daniel Chopra (SWE), Carlos Pigem (ESP), Blair Wilson (AUS)
Source: AFP
