General / Editor / 15 March 2007 / Leave a Comment

Thailand's Chapchai Nirat leads the field after the opening day of the TCL Classic in China after recording a course record.

Nirat carded an eleven-under-par 61, his best ever round, to leave him three shots clear of the field at the Yalong Bay Golf Club in Hainan.

Argentinian Rafael Echenique sits alone in second on -8 with a group of three players - Wen Teh Lu, Richard Lee and Keith Horne - a further shot back on -7.

England's Lee Westwood is among five players five shots adrift of Nirat, with the Ryder Cup star firing an eagle and six birdies in his opening 66.

Westwood, the best placed of the British contingent, said: "I was pretty pleased with the way I played tee to green. I hit a couple of good shots.

"I got a bit lucky at the second, but 66 was about the worst it could have been."
Betfair punters are confident Nirat can build on his impressive start, with the Thai ace the current 6.4 favourite to claim the TCL title.

Westwood is next best in the win market at 8.2, with Wen Teh Lu available at 18.5 and Nick Dougherty (-3) trading at 21.