Pavan and Lu lead UBS Hong Kong Open, with Poulter three behind

 

HONG KONG (AP) – Andrea Pavan of Italy made four birdies on his last six holes to take a share of the lead after the first round of the UBS Hong Kong Open with a 6-under 64.

 

Pavan was tied with Wei-chih Lu of Taiwan, a stroke ahead of a trio that included Justin Rose of England. Rose made four birdies on the back nine in a bogey-free round at the Fanling Course and was tied with Taiwanese player Cheng-tseung Pan and Jeev Milka Singh of India.

 

"I was happy with my putting although I did miss a couple (of birdies) which slid by," Rose said. "Yet it is a good start to the tournament."

 

Graeme McDowell was in a group of six players another shot back at the joint European Tour and Asian Tour event.

 

MORE: Poulter makes mad dash to Hong Kong | Beem explains why he gave Poulter his spot

 

Ian Poulter showed no effects of his late arrival to Hong Kong, shooting a composed 67. Poulter landed late Wednesday night after a 15-hour flight from Florida after making last-minute plans to play in the tournament. 

 

Poulter's ranking dipped nine places to 51 at the start of the week, making him ineligible to play in the WGC-HSBC Champions and leaving him one short of the minimum number of 13 European Tour events to retain his membership for next season, as well as his Ryder Cup eligibility.

 

The Englishman was then handed a spot in Hong Kong by American Rich Beem, who had a sponsors' invite to the tournament but agreed to step aside for Poulter.

 

"I'm fairly happy with that result today although I think I left a few out there. This course suits my game," Poulter said.

 

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