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Els snatches early lead

South African finishes opening round with a flourish

Last updated: 15th November 2008

Els: One shot lead

Leaderboard:
-5 E Els (SA)
-4 Lam Chih Bing (Sin)
-3 M Both (Aus)
-2 N Redfearn (Eng)
-2 S Dyson (Eng)

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Ernie Els birdied two of the last three holes to overhaul local favourite Lam Chih Bing and snatch the lead at the $5 million Singapore Open.

The South African finished the last four holes of his first round on Friday morning after a storm-interrupted opening day and birdied the 16th and 18th holes to sit five under par on 66.

Els was on the 15th green when play was stopped on Thursday night after a day ruined by rain and thunderstorms.

'Big Easy' missed the putt when he resumed on Friday but made up for it with a superb finish to his opening round.

"I'm pleased with that," Els said. "I putted nicely and hit the ball okay. It's not an easy course. If you miss shots, you'll pay the price. I felt comfortable with the swing and I'm pretty pleased with the start."

Important

"I made birdie on 16 and had a good one on 18 after laying up. I have shaved a lot of them. I'm not complaining and it was a nice round," he said as the island of Sentosa bathed in morning sunshine.

The city-state's own Lam had made the best of Thursday's challenging conditions at the Serapong Course to lead the field with a four-under-par 67 overnight.

"My main goal right now is still to piece together four solid rounds. Obviously I want to do well this week," he said.

"I think being in this position, it's important not to get ahead of myself and just still go out and play three more solid rounds."

World number three Phil Mickelson tees off his second round later on Friday after a two-over 73. Ireland's Padraig Harrington resumes at one over after an opening-day 72.

The Singapore Open is Asia's richest national open, with $792,500 going to the winner.