England's Yasin Ali moved a step closer to a place in July's Open Championship after carding a 69 in the opening round of the Asian qualifying tournament at Sentosa in Singapore.
The 26-year-old, whose father captained the Kenyan cricket team in the 1980s, shares the lead with Malaysian Danny Chia and Filipino Angelo Que.
Four spots at Royal Birkdale are up for grabs.
Scotland's Lloyd Saltman, leading amateur and a brilliant 15th in the 2005 Open at St Andrews, is in a tie for eighth place on 71.
But his former Walker Cup team-mate Rhys Davies carded a disappointing 78.