Stenson leads first round of Asian Open

SHANGHAI, April 20 (UPI) -- Henrik Stenson of Sweden holds the first-round lead at the BMW Asian Open, shooting a 5-under-par 67 at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.

Jean van de Velde, the winner of this year's Madeira Island Open, and Stephen Gallacher are tied for second place at 4-under-par 68.

There's a six-way tie for fourth place at par minus-3. The contenders are eight-time Order of Merit champion Colin Montgomerie, Thomas Bjorn, Peter Lawrie. Marcus Fraser, Frankie Minoza and Charlie Wi, who won this year's Malaysian Open.

Stenson described the weather as optimal for scoring.

"It was dead calm," he said. "The greens are putting well and the sun is shining."