Aussie underdog takes lead at Volvo Masters

The little-known Sydney-based golfer enjoyed a solid bogey-free round, picking up birdies at holes 3, 4, 8, 9 11 and 13 to grab a two-stroke lead and steal the show from Asian No 1 Jeev Milka Singh and in-form Thongchai Jaidee at the 7,094-yard Thai Country |Club course.

 "I had no bogeys in the round. I hit a really nice shot with my five iron on the third hole and nearly made a hole in one. After that I hit it really nicely and holed a few putts,'' said Basic, who posted two top-10 finishes this year - in the Worldwide Selangor Masters and the Midea China Classic.

Basic earned his spot in the season-ending tournament despite a poor showing at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.

 "I missed the cut in Cambodia and three or four players could have caught me if they'd made it into the top five. I sat in my hotel room watching live updates on the Internet every hour. It was quite stressful," Basic said.

His countryman Adam Blyth trailed two shots behind for a share of second with Taiwanese Lin Wen-tang. Like Basic, Blyth and Lin managed a flawless round, with four birdies each.

"It was really solid. I kept it fairly safe and hit a lot of greens,'' said the 27-year-old Blyth from Brisbane.

It was a disastrous day for big names, including Singh, who paid dearly for lack of practice. He shot a 76 which placed him at joint 65th.

Thaworn Wiratchant along with Chawalit Plaphol and Chapchai Nirat posted the best scores among Thais.

The former Asian Tour No 1 Thaworn could have signed off with a 69 had he not bogeyed on the 18th, which saw him slip out of the top 10. "I drove a shot into a tree and it got really difficult,'' said an upset Thaworn.

Chawalit started strongly with three birdies in the first five holes but bogeyed on the 9th and 18th.

"Overall it was not a good day. I was putting okay but it just wouldn't drop into the holes. The wind was strong, so it was difficult to control the direction,'' said Chawalit who's missed the cuts in eight of the 18 Asian events he entered this year.

Thongchai, who is eyeing a hat-trick of wins after triumphing in Vietnam and Cambodia, got off to a poor start, carding a one-over par for joint 41st position.

"The wind was strong and the greens were hard. But the conditions will be easier in the morning and I will be teeing off early,'' he said.