HONG KONG -- John Daly put himself within four strokes of joint leaders Wen-chong Liang of China and South African Richard Sterne, who both shot a 6-under 64 in the first round of the $2.5 million Hong Kong Open on Thursday.

Liang and Sterne were a stroke ahead of Taiwan's Wen-tang Lin -- who recovered from a double bogey on the opening hole -- and 48-year-old Frankie Minoza of the Philippines.

Daly was 4 under after 15 holes, but bogeys on the last two holes cost him a share of fifth place in the jointly sanctioned European Tour and Asian Tour event.

"I'm not too disappointed, being a little rusty. I haven't played in a month. Two under par on the first round here is pretty good. I'll take it," the 42-year-old American told reporters.

Daly, a former British Open and PGA Championship winner now ranked No. 788 in the world, said he feels he is striking the ball well but is struggling for rhythm because he hasn't been able to qualify for consecutive tournaments.

He has not had a PGA Tour card since 2006, when his two-year exemption expired from his last victory at the Buick Invitational in 2004. He made only five cuts in 17 starts on the PGA Tour this year and earned just over $56,000.

"I need to play three or four weeks in a row to get anything out of my game. I haven't been able to really do that in two years. The exemptions didn't come in a row," Daly said.

"My drought hasn't been quite as bad as Australia and the water situation, but it's been close. You just keep fighting and keep working on it."

Daly has also had a tumultuous year off the course, going through a divorce and spending a night in jail last month after being found "extremely intoxicated and uncooperative," police said, outside a Hooters restaurant in North Carolina.

Liang, the 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, shot seven birdies with only a bogey on the final hole preventing him from taking the lead. He said he played patiently and described his round at the 6,702-yard Hong Kong Golf Club in suburban Fanling as a "good start."

"Even though the course is short, there are many places where you can run into problems. When you're not playing well, when you're impatient, it's very easy to make mistakes because the fairways are quite narrow," Liang said.

Sterne, who won the European Tour's Joburg Open earlier this year, made an impressive debut in Hong Kong despite not even playing a practice round.

"I've done it a few times before so I'm not really too fazed about it," Sterne said. "It went pretty well. Sometimes it helps -- you don't know where all the trouble is."

The South African fired eight birdies, with bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes his only blemishes.

Miguel Angel Jimenez got off to a disappointing start to his title defense and his bid to become only the third player to win at Fanling at least three times. The Spaniard made three bogeys and finished 1 over, seven strokes behind the leaders.

"I ruined myself on the greens," Jimenez said.

Among the leading players, South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell were level with Jimenez after shooting 71s, while in-form Englishman Oliver Wilson stamped himself as a genuine title threat with a first-round 66.

Six-time major winner and Europe's Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo shot a 72 in his first tournament round in a year, while Simon Griffiths made a hole-in-one with a 9-iron from 144 yards on the par-3 12th to earn himself a solid gold bar worth around $30,000.

Sterne hopes his decision to take a more relaxed approach can pay dividends and bring an end to an inconsistent year on the European Tour. He couldn't have started 2008 better, but failed to carry momentum from that win into the rest of the year as he managed just one top-20 finish in 18 tournaments.

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.

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," he said. "The golf course is very short but the fairways are narrow and you have to be careful each day and each fairway."

Oliver Wilson was the highest-placed Briton after carding a 4-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 playoff to Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia in the HSBC Champions a few weeks ago. "I feel like I can get into contention. If I can stay up there all week then I feel like I am getting closer."

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."

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