Lam hit three birdies over his closing four holes (AFP)
Lam Chih Bing fired a five-under-par 67 to take the first round lead in the 60,000-US-dollar Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore on Wednesday.
After a slow start to the season, Lam's game finally clicked on home soil as he nailed six birdies for a one-stroke lead over Filipino Rey Pagunsan and Namchok Tantipokakul from Thailand on the par-72 course.
"It is nice to post a low round. Of course playing at Laguna National helps a lot as I have played here so much. However the swing felt good and the day has helped my confidence," said Lam.
The Singaporean enjoyed the finest season of his career last year, winning the Asian Masters on the Asian Tour, the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia and the Singapore PGA Championship.
He also became the first player from his country to play all four rounds in the British Open.
"I had a long break at the start of the year so it will take a bit of time to find my swing again. I played quite well in the Singha Thailand Open last week, which was encouraging," said Lam.
He led the Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore by four shots last year going into the last round before being overtaken by Pariya Junhasavasdikul from Thailand. Lam finished outright second.
Pariya started his title defence with a 71.
Leading first-round scores:
67 - Lam Chih Bing (SIN)
68 - Rey Pagunsan (PHI), Namchok Tantipokakul (THA)
69 - Mardan Mamat (SIN), S. Siva Chandran (MAS), Varut Chomchalum (THA)
70 - Danny Chia (MAS), Jay Bayron (PHI), Rory Hie (INA)
71 - Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA), P. Gunasegaran (MAS)
© 2009 AFP/sid
