Andy Sullivan fired eight birdies, including three in-a-row from the 13rd, to post a 7-under 63 to take a share of the lead in the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan.
Round 1 co-leader @andysulligolf with an impressive 83.30% Greens In Regulation 🎯#ISPSHandaChampionship pic.twitter.com/B1X842IIvl
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 20, 2023
"Really pleased, just got off to a good start," said the Englishman.
"A lot of right flags out there for me to find - as my playing partner Romain Langasque told me! He was like 'Every flag out there is a right flag and you fade the ball so it’s perfect for you today'.
"It was good fun playing with Brendan (Lawlor) and Romain, very relaxed vibe. It was just like going out there and playing with your mates, really.
"Me and my coach have been working on going back to when I was playing my best, around 2015, 16, so we’ve looked at swings from there and almost tried to mimic that.
"It’s getting close, feel confident with the irons. Driver is still taking a bit of work. On the whole the game is feeling good. It feels a lot more under control again, less of the erratic shots."
South Korea's Yeongsu Kim, the KPGA’s 2022 Genesis Point Award winner, took his share of the lead with a bogey-free round.
"I feel good because I didn’t make any bogeys today," said Kim.
"My shots were not in good shape at the beginning. However, it seems I putted well, so that helped today’s score.
"I hope it goes well tomorrow. I will be able to play with less stress because I played well today."
Canada's Aaron Cockerill, Sweden's Alexander Björk and South Africa's Deon Germishuys are tied in third place at 6-under.
Three Japanese players, Keita Nakajima, Ryutaro Nagano and Yosuke Asaji, share sixth place at 5-under with five others.
