Oman Open: Kurt Kitayama leads as Joost Luiten starts strongly

Kurt Kitayama grabbed the early lead at the Oman Open, as Joost Luiten made a strong start to his title defence.

Kitayama fired a bogey-free 66 at a windy Al Mouj Golf to hold a one-shot advantage over morning pacestters Scott Jamieson and Japan's Yusaku Miyazato.

David Horsey and Thomas Pieters are part of the group two off the pace, while Luiten - the highest-ranked player in the field - began his bid for back-to-back Oman titles with a three-under 69.

Kitayama birdied the sixth and rolled in from 10 feet at the eighth to reach the turn in 34, before following picking up a shot at the 11th and holing in a 15-footer at the next to move into a share of the advantage.

The American pitched to three feet to set up another birdie at the par-five 16th to grab the outright lead, with Jamieson one back after a bogey-free start and Miyazato also tied-second on five under.

Pieters was also in that group until a final-hole bogey, with David Drysdale two strokes back until finishing his two-under 70 with back-to-back bogeys and Chris Wood posting a level-par 72 in his first start of 2019.

Watch the Oman Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event.

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