Saturday 28 April 2018 09:06, UK
Matt Wallace fired a seven-under 65 to get within a shot of the early lead after a day of low scoring at the Volvo China Open.
Wallace produced an eagle-birdie finish at Topwin Golf and Country Club to set the clubhouse target, only for Daxing Jin to post a blemish-free 64 and move top of the leaderboard.
Nino Bertasio joins Wallace in a share of second, with Alexander Bjork alongside Scott Vincent a further shot back in tied-third and Scott Jamieson part of the group on five under.
"I just played really nice," Wallace said. "I drove it well again, which is a key to my golf. Playing with Alex (Levy) was also hopeful and we kept chucking birdies at each other."
Beginning on the back nine, Wallace birdied two of his first three holes and picked up shots either side of a blemish at the par-three 16th.
Wallace birdied the 18th to reach the turn in a three-way tie for the top alongside Dean Burmester and Bjork, before briefly grabbing the outright advantage with a 20-foot gain at the third.
The Englishman bogeyed the next to hand Bjork the lead when the Swede birdied the fifth, only for Jin to close the gap by following three early birdies with back-to-back gains around the turn.
Bjork birdied the par-five eighth to get to sixth under, as Wallace fired a stunning approach to five feet on his way to an eagle-three and added another birdie at the last to regain the lead.
Jin picked up a shot at the seventh and chipped in for eagle from off the next green to leapfrog Wallace, as Bertasio fired four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to close a blemish-free card and get within one of the lead.
Defending champion Alex Levy is five off the pace after an opening-round 69, while Hideto Tanihara fired a hole-in-one at the par-three 16th on his way to a level-par 72.
Watch the Volvo China Open throughout the week on Sky Sports Golf. Coverage continues on Friday from 6am on Sky Sports Golf.
