DUBAI — Feng Shanshan, the highest ranked player in the field, showed her class as she shot a six-under par round of 66 Wednesday to lead the 500,000 euros Dubai Ladies Masters along with England's Florentyna Parker. The Chinese world No. 6, winner of this year LPGA Championship, and Parker are paired together for the first two rounds. And they clearly enjoyed each other's company as they opened a narrow one-shot lead on top of the leaderboard over Czech Republic's Klara Spilkova, Wales' Sahra Hassan and American Cindy Lacrosse. Defending champion Alexis Thompson of the United States opened with a three-under par 69 to be tied 14th in a group of 14 players, while compatriot Michelle Wie, who has been down with a viral attack the last few days, shot a two-under par 70. In the battle for the Ladies European Tour's Order of Merit crown, No. 1 Carlota Ciganda of Spain shot a two-under par 70, while No. 2 Caroline Masson of Germany, the only player who can deny Ciganda this week, began with a four-under par 68. Feng played a bogey-free round with six birdies, but apart from a birdie on the par-5 third hole, she could not get going till she dropped a 15-footer birdie putt on the eighth hole. She then followed it up with four more birdies over the next eight holes. The 23-year-old from Guangzhou said: “There is a lot of pressure because this is my sponsor's tournament and I really want to do well here. But at the start of the day, I told myself to stay patient, and that's exactly what I did. “I was only one-under after seven holes and I was not hitting my irons too well. And then suddenly, after that long birdie putt on the eighth hole, I started to hit it really well.” The 23-year-old Parker, who is 17th on the Money List with three top-10s, made a solitary bogey and seven birdies in her round of 66. Thompson, who became the youngest professional to win on the LET last year, was happy with the way she started the defense of her crown. “Three-under par is a nice start,” said the 17-year-old world No. 24. “I had a few lip-outs there and could have done better, but there are three days to go. I am in a good position.” Westwood hoping for reprise of Thai masterclass Defending champion Lee Westwood returns to the Thailand Golf Championship Thursday hoping to recapture his imperious form of last year in a field studded with Major-winners. The world No. 6 stormed to a seven-shot win at the inaugural event sparked by an opening round of 12-under-par 60 — narrowly missing out on a magical 59, which has never been shot on the Asian Tour. Westwood, 39, has glowingly described it as “one of the best rounds I've ever played” and will be determined to retain his title and finish his season with a second win in Asia this year, and third overall. But the Englishman, the top-ranked player at the event after the late withdrawal of Louis Oosthuizen with illness, will be braced for intense competition from a strong field at the Amata Spring course near Bangkok. Masters champion Bubba Watson, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, Darren Clarke and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa lead the charge while the local challenge will be spearheaded by three-time Asian Tour No. 1 Thongchai Jaidee. — Agencies
