UBS Hong Kong Open 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Rafa Cabrera Bello held a one-shot lead over Sebastien Gros at the close of play at the 2016 UBS Hong Kong Open on Thursday having carded a six-under 64.

Behind the pair, 10 players find themselves on four under including Jordan L Smith, Tommy Fleetwood and David Lipsky.

Danny Willett and Ian Poulter went round in 68, while Patrick Reed and defending champion Justin Rose were level par on 70.

Here's the top of the leaderboard after the first round:

Position	Player	To Par	Round One
1	Rafa Cabrera Bello	-6	64
2	Sebastien Gros	-5	65
T3	Sam Brazel	-4	66
T3	Paul Peterson	-4	66
T3	Tommy Fleetwood	-4	66
T3	Nacho Elvira	-4	66
T3	Jordan Smith	-4	66
T3	Jorge Campillo	-4	66
T3	David Lipsky	-4	66
T3	Peter Uihlein	-4	66

Recap

Starting at the 11th, Cabrera Bello enjoyed a steady opening to his round with a series of five pars, before a flurry of birdies at the 16th, 17th, first and third brought him level with early leader Smith on four under.

According to the European Tour, the Spaniard—who carded an unblemished round—maintained a 100 per cent record of hitting every green in regulation.

The 32-year-old then finished his round in style at the 10th, per the Tour's official Twitter feed:

Indeed, Cabrera Bello has been in exceptional form of late, as the Tour demonstrated:

Gros also enjoyed a clean round, picking up shots on the 12th and the first in a fairly low-key first nine.

Birdies at the fourth, fifth and 10th saw him finish strongly with a late push up the leaderboard.

Rose might be some way off the lead as things stand, but he almost produced one of the highlights of the day at the par-five 13th as he almost holed out with his second shot:

In the end he had to settle for an eagle, which put him on one-under after a birdie and two bogeys, but another dropped shot on the 18th saw him finish on par.

With so many players playing so well—there are 20 within three shots of Cabrera Bello—there's scope for plenty of change heading into the weekend, so the Spaniard is far from secure in the lead.

Further, with the likes of Reed, Rose, Willett and Poulter involved, they're more than capable of shooting up the leaderboard with a strong round on Friday—they will all still have ambitions of winning here.