Mark Brown stole the show on the opening day of the UBS Hong Kong Open yesterday as the New Zealander surprised even himself with a bogey-free, eight-under-par 62 at Fanling to establish a one-shot lead over two-time runner-up Rory McIlroy and India's Jeev Milkha Singh.
Brown, 35, has struggled to recapture the form which saw him post back-to-back victories in India in 2008, with just a handful of notable finishes to his name since.
But on a sun-drenched opening day at Hong Kong Golf Club, the world number 446 took full advantage of the ideal scoring conditions with a blitz of eight birdies to displace early pacesetter McIlroy.
'It's a bit of a surprise after my form over the past two months, but a good surprise. It's good to get out in the afternoon and post a score like that,' said Brown, who has managed two top 10s this season, but has missed the cut at his last two tournaments.
Brown had erased the early mark set by McIlroy after playing the opening 13 holes in eight under par, but after missing a solid birdie chance from six feet at his 14th hole, failed to add to his advantage in the closing stages - although he was still happy with the lowest single-round total of his professional career after also posting a 62 as an amateur playing for a New Zealand team.
'It's the sort of course that gives you a lot of chances, as long as you hit it in the fairway,' Brown said. 'I just tried to get the ball in play and didn't hit a lot of drivers, which probably suits me the way I've been hitting my driver lately. So the key is trying to get it in play.'