SHANGHAI, 29 April 2005 — World No. 3 Ernie Els fired a smooth five-under-par 67 in sweltering heat to share the first round lead at the $1.5 million Asian Open yesterday.
Frenchman Jean Van de Velde, who is attempting his latest comeback from serious knee injuries, was one of six other players tied with Els in Shanghai.
Van de Velde’s countryman Raphael Jacquelin, New Zealand’s Eddie Lee, Australian Larry Austin and British pair Peter Lawrie and Simon Wakefield were also five under.
The seven-way tie equals the European Tour record for the number of players sharing the lead after a first round.
Els has already won in Dubai and Qatar this year and he finished tied for sixth at last week’s JW Classic in Beijing.
The South African began with back-to-back birdies and had five in total on the front nine as temperatures reached almost 40 degrees in Shanghai. His only bogey came at the par-four seventh but Els got up and down from a greenside bunker at the 13th for his only birdie of the back nine.
Els is still working on minor changes to his game after finishing a career-worst 47th at the US Masters earlier this month but the 35-year-old feels his tinkering is close to bearing fruit.
“I would say I’m a 7 or 8 out of 10 right now,” said the three-times major winner.
“I feel more comfortable and can see my way forward now.” Van de Velde is best remembered for squandering a three-stroke lead on the final hole to lose the 1999 British Open. The former Ryder Cup player has twice had reconstructive surgery on his knees and is making his fourth comeback attempt in the past year.
