Simon Dyson made the most of sunny, early morning conditions to take the first round lead at the US$1.5 million BMW Asian Open at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club yesterday.

　　The 26-year-old Englishman, winner of the Volvo China Open at Silport in 2000, shot a six-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over star attraction Greg Norman of Australia, South Korean Choi Kyung-ju, Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng and American Greg Hanrahan.

　　Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley from Ireland, German Alex Cejka and Swede Mattias Eliasson, Scotland's David Drysdale and Australians Marcus Both and Craig Spence were a shot further back at four under.

　　Dyson, who won the Asian PGA Order of Merit as a rookie in 2000, said he was happy to return to Shanghai and to see a lot of familiar faces from his playing days in the region.

　　He also won tournaments in Hong Kong and Macau the same year.

　　"Anything to do with China, I'm three out of three. It'll be nice to make it four," said the Yorkshireman, who is coming back from hand and elbow injuries.

　　"I started off really well, drove the ball great and got a couple of under early and putted really well and never missed a thing. It just felt great. I just tried to get it on the green, knocking to about 12 feet often and finishing my putts."

　　"Nice one to be leading by one over Greg (Norman). He looked to be playing well. I kept looking back a bit and he kept playing nice."

　　Norman, the two-time major winner, said he was happy with his round, despite hitting a cart path on the last hole as his ball bounced over water and landed under a tree, leaving him without a backswing.

　　"I am not a fan of cart paths and my ball landed on a path and I got lucky," said the "Great White Shark" of his bogey-free round.

　　"Overall, I'm happy as it was a good solid day. Being early in the morning, the golf course was fairly soft, fairly giving and fortunately, I did a good job of it," he said.

　　Choi, the Asian No. 1 who teed off in the afternoon, said his round was one of patience.

　　"Today was windy and playing the second shots was difficult. I missed a few fairways but I was comfortable with putting. The grass is similar to Korea on the putting greens," Choi said after his round.

　　"I am in a very good position to be one back. Three more days but I need more practice here on the course.

　　"It's good to have a European and Asian Tour (event) here. The course is difficult, a little different than on the PGA Tour."

　　Padraig Harrington, the defending champion and the top-ranked player in the tournament, struggled in the afternoon as the wind picked up.

　　The Irishman carded an even par-72 as his five birdies were wiped out by five bogeys.

　　His final hole proved to be a disaster as he hit a tree on his drive followed by a cart path and water on his second shot, taking a six.

　　"I was happy with how I played but just a couple of mistakes in the last few holes," said Harrington, the No. 8-ranked player in the world.

　　"Some tough holes. Not much more to it. Maybe over-confidence. Tomorrow is another day. You get no wind in the morning and hopefully do a bit of a score. The wind was tough out there."

　　Harrington's playing partner Cejka, the PGA Tour regular who is bidding for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team in September, claimed that he putted really well.

　　"When I missed the greens, I got up and down. The leaders are not that far away but there are three rounds to go.

　　"The greens are rolling nice and the course was fair. The wind was blowing today but it was not really tough. Holing a 30 footer on 17 for a birdie was a bonus."

　　China No. 1 Zhang Lianwei, playing in a group with Norman, carded a two-under 70 while number two, Lian Wen-chong, was four-over 76 and will have to go some to make the cut.