BARRY HUME (65) UP WITH LEADERS IN

SINGAPORE MASTERS

China’s top golfer Liang Wen-chong and Australia's Marcus Fraser shared the lead at eight-under-par 64 after the opening round of the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club.
With the event being played over two courses (Masters and Classic courses), the leading duo held a one-stroke advantage in what promises to be a very low-scoring tournament.

Glasgow's Barry Hume (pictured right), the former Scottish amateur champion, is one of the group on the 64 mark. It's Barry's best start since he joined the Asian Tour as a rookie last year.

Hume birdied the first, fourth and eighth in 33 to the turn, dropped his first and only shot at the 11th before covering the next five holes in five under par - birdies at the 12th, 14th and 16th and an eagle 3 at the 15th.

Simon Yates and Ross Bain, two Scots exiles well used to the dehydrating heat and humidity of the Far East, shot 68 and 69 respectively.

Yates birdied the seventh and ninth for 34 out. Coming home, he birdied the 10th but dropped shots at the 12th and 14th before getting back in the groove with birdies at the 15th, 17th and 18th.

Bain parred his first nine holes and then birdied the 10th and bogeyed the 11th. He followed that with four birdies in a row from the 12th before cooling off with a bogey at the 16th.

Andrew Coltart from Thornhill, who would not be used to the heat, could be very well satisfied with a 69 which had birdies at the first, second, fifth, 10th, 13th and 18th in halves of 34 and 35. He shed shots to par at the ninth, 14th and 17th.

Paul Lawrie shot a one-under-par 71 but so low is the scoring that he will start the second round in a share of 71st place. The project cut halfway figure in a huge field of 204 is two-under-par 142 so Paul has little room for manoeuvre at the moment.

The Aberdonian bogeyed the second but birdied the third, sixth and ninth to turn in two-under-par 34.

He got a fourth birdie at the 13th but perhaps tired a bit with bogeys at the 14th and 18th for 37 home.

Gary Orr is also on the 71 mark with halves of 37 and 34.

Steven O'Hara had a triple bogey 7 at the ninth and a double-bogey 6 at the 10th in his 77 which leaves him languishing in 184th place.

LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
64 Marcus Fraser (Aus), Liang Wen-chong (Chn)
65 Barry Hume (Sco) 33-32, Shingo Katayama (Jap), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)
66 Mark Brown (NZ), Peter Lawrie (Ire), Angelo Que (Phi), Graeme Storm (Eng), Martin Kaymer (Ger)
67 Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa), Adam Blyth (Aus), Unho Park (Aus), Peter Hanson (Swe).

Other scores included:

68 Simon Yates (Sco) 34-34 (jt 15th).

69 Ross Bain (Sco) 36-33, Andrew Coltart (Sco) 34-35 (jt 33rd).

70 Andrew Oldcorn (Sco) 34-36, Lee Westwood (Eng), Nick Dougherty (Eng), Oliver Fisher (Eng) (jt 58th).

71 Paul Lawrie (Sco) 34-37, Gary Orr (Sco) 37-34 (jt 74th).

72 Stephen Gallagher (Sco) 35-37 (jt 98th).

73 Marc Warren (Sco) 35-38, Scott Drummond (Sco) 35-38 (jt 115th).

77 Steven O'Hara (Sco) 38-39 (jt 184th).

78 David Drysdale (Sco) 38-40 (jt 190th).

+Projected halfway cut figure is two-under-par 142.