An hour and 50 minutes of play was lost in the afternoon due to the threat of lightning at Genzon Golf Club.
Dylan Frittelli of South Africa was four-under, with Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, Spaniard Eduardo de la Riva and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger at the same score with holes left to complete in their round.
After starting on the back nine, two-time Masters champion Watson had a bogey on the 12th but it proved to be the only blemish of his round.
After the bogey, Watson fought back with three birdies in the next four holes. Another gain came after making the turn, followed by an eagle on the second.
"You know anytime you shoot six-under, shoot in the 60s, you're happy with it but every golfer can pick and choose what they wish they did better, but all in all a great day and a good start," he told the European Tour.
"I just made putts today. Most of my swings and most of my shots were really good today and there were no bad swings in there so it just made the score better."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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