May 02-05
Genzon Golf Club, Shenzhen, China
CNY 20,000,000
Live leaderboard
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

Jorge Campillo picked up exactly where he left off in Morocco last week as the European Tour's most recent champion carded an opening 65 to share the first round lead in the 25th edition of the Volvo China Open.

"I got a few nights sleep so it was good and I played alright. Hitting fairways and greens and I made a few putts as well so it was good round."

The Spaniard was clearly still riding the wave of his maiden victory at the Trophée Hassan II on Sunday as he opened with a birdie and finished the front nine with an eagle three - with three more birdies in between - before a quieter back nine yielded just one gained shot at the par five 17th.

"The eagle on nine was the highlight, I made great putts on seven and eight back to back and then I hit a great hybrid on nine. I got an easy putt uphill and I made it.

"If I can keep playing like this and making the putts it will be a good sign, I'll play to my best tomorrow and hopefully have a chance on the weekend.

He joined American David Lipsky, a winner already this season at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland at the top of the leaderboard on seven under par.

“I played well and I got my putter working today," said Lipsky. "I hit it alright, not great, but I think I holed 150 feet of putts today so that always helps.

“I was trying to be aggressive and it didn't work out for me. I was just trying to get it to 15-20 feet from the hole and luckily I kept making them.

“Everything's in good shape out here. The greens are pure, it's pick and place you have a perfect lie every time so it's definitely good playing conditions."

Home hero and the 2015 Volvo China Open champion Wu Ashun was a shot further back alongside his compatriot Jin Daxing and American John Catlin after three 66s, while another Chinese star, World Number 39 Li Haotong, was one of eight players in a share of sixth place on five under.

“It was a very good round today, I hit a lot of quality shots and made a lot of birdies, so it was a good start to the tournament," said Wu.

“I think you have to hit the fairways out there and just keep it on the green and then you'll have chances to make birdies.

“It was challenging for everyone when the rain came down there for a while, it's not easy on this golf course in those conditions. It's wet and you lose distance with the driver so it's tough for everyone.”