Justin Thomas had two eagles on his front nine and finished with a nine-under 63 to take a first-round lead at the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, the first PGA Tour tournament staged in South Korea.
Marc Leishman was the best placed Australian after the opening round and the 33-year-old was tied for second after a six-under round of 66.
Chez Reavie, Gavin Kyle Green, Scott Brown and Patrick Reed shared second with the Victorian.
Jason Day and Rod Pampling were at four under in a share for 12th, one stroke ahead of Pat Perez, who was coming off a victory at last week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia. Adam Scott was at even par after an opening round containing four birdies and four bogeys.
Thomas started with a bogey at 10 but made amends with eagles on the par-5 12th and 18th holes and four straight birdies from No.14-17 to turn in 29.
He had three more birdies and a bogey that gave him a three-stroke cushion toward the end of the round.
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