Seoul, South Korea – Frenchman Victor Dubuisson posted a four-under 68 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Ballantine's Championship.
Paul Casey headlines a strong group tied for second at a windy Blackstone Golf Club.
"I know if I play the golf I'm capable of, I've got a very good chance to win," said Casey, who recently returned to action after a shoulder injury. "The way I played today, I need to keep that form going, because there's a long way to go."
The Englishman was joined at two-under 70 by Richie Ramsay, Mark Foster, Jamie Donaldson and Ji-ho Jung.
The first round was suspended due to darkness with only six players left on the course. They will return Friday morning to finish the opening round, but round two will start on time.
Dubuisson didn't get off to a leader's kind of start. He bogeyed the 10th, his first hole Thursday, but rebounded with three birdies in his next five holes.
The 22-year-old Frenchman bogeyed the 16th to fall back to one-under par. Dubuisson once again atoned for an error with a great run of birdies, this time starting at the 17th.
Dubuisson birdied three in a row around the turn to get to four-under.
After pars at two and three, Dubuisson found serious trouble off the tee at the fourth. He hit a terrible drive into water and had to take a penalty stroke. After the drop, Dubuisson knocked his third over the green and chipped down to 10 feet. He missed the putt and walked off with a double-bogey.
"On the third hole, the wind was from the left, and so on the fourth tee I thought the wind was going to be sort of left to right, but the wind was turning all the time. The wind just turned right to left and it went into the water. So I was not really upset after this double-bogey because I didn't hit a bad shot."
For the third time on Thursday, Dubuisson overcame a miscue. He birdied the fifth and sixth holes to get back to four-under par, then parred his last three for the first-round lead.
"Very pleased with playing four-under today," said Dubuisson. "My putting was really, really good today and I think it's the only way to achieve good scoring in these conditions."
Dubuisson is still looking for his first European Tour victory, but has played well during the tour's recent Asia swing. He tied for 11th two weeks ago at the Malaysian Open, then shared fourth on Sunday at the China Open.
Adam Scott, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 12, shot a one-under 71 and is tied for seventh place. Marcus Fraser and Thongchai Jaidee, both former champions of this event, were also part of the mix in seventh.
NOTES: Last year's winner, Lee Westwood, is not in the field this week...Ian Poulter, the 25th-ranked player in the world, shot a three-over 75 and is tied for 58th...Reigning Open champion Darren Clarke struggled to a five-over 77 and shares 95th...Rikard Karlberg withdrew on Thursday.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.