Matteo Manassero rolled back the years to set the early pace at the PIF Saudi International on Thursday, while Hong Kong amateur Taichi Kho stumbled at the end of his first round at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. A one-time teenage prodigy of the European Tour, Manassero has struggled in recent years, but his bogey-free 8-under par 62 hints at better time times ahead. The Italian covered the front nine in 29 after making six birdies, and picked up more shots at 11 and 12, leaving him three clear of defending champion Dustin Johnson. Kho dropped three shots in his last two holes to finish the day 2-over and in a tie for 82nd. He was at least in good company alongside former major winner Jason Dufner, and only a shot back from Englishman Lee Westwood. Fairways hit: 10/14 GIR: 17/18 Putts: 27 What a round, @ManasseroMatteo ! 👏 @SaudiIntlGolf #SaudiIntlGolf #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/GiCZJA1a85 — Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) February 3, 2022 A group of five players, including Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III, sit in second in a tie for second after carding 6-under 64s, while Patrick Reed was in a group in on 4-under and Xander Schauffele a further stroke back. “It was one of those days in which everything was going my way,” Manassero said. “I was playing really solid, giving myself a lot of birdie chances, a lot of really short ones, as well. So just got the round going and just felt comfortable. That’s the right word, I guess.” Kho, who started his round on the back nine, had a steady start and parred the first two holes, before picking up his first birdie on the par-4 12th. He gave the shot back three holes later, birdied 16 and then bogeyed 18 to reach the turn at level-par. “Not a bad start, you know, just trying to grind it out, a couple of good pars, got the putter rolling early, which was nice,” Kho said. “I’ve got a couple of things to sharpen up on after this, but it was kind of nice to feel some nerves again because it’s been a while since I’ve played. It’s nice to be in this environment and I’m embracing it.” Ultimately, Kho paid the price for a poor finish, with a bogey a 7 and double bogey at 9, but said he felt good about his game. “It’s golf right, it happens, a couple of loose swings, a bad putt here and there, but overall I feel like my process was good, I hit a lot of good shots, and I feel like it can only get better from here,” he said. Back in tournament golf after a while away, Kho has already said he was viewing the week as a learning experience, and said he was looking forward to the second round on a course he called “a very fair test”. “I’ve no expectations, no scoring expectations, I’m just trying to play my best,” he said. “And I know my best golf is very good, so that’s the goal tomorrow.” While Manassero had every right to be pleased with his day’s work, the biggest smile of the day probably belonged to Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Kim Joo-hyung. The 19-year-old matched playing partner Johnson’s 65, and called the experience “awesome”. “I hope the TV got my smiles because I was having the time of my life,” he said. “It was awesome playing with those guys, and just a great experience. “I told myself there’s a reason I’m playing with these guys, and I know I worked really hard to get to this point. I prepped really well this week, and I just told myself just be confident and don’t be afraid and just hit your shots, and I think that’s what I did.”