Hong Kong Open 2015: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

World No. 7 Justin Rose sits just one shot off the lead after the first day of action at the 2015 Hong Kong Open, the European Tour's final event of the regular season.

The Englishman shot a five-under-par 65 on Thursday and is tied in third place behind leaders Lu Wei-chih, of Taiwan and Italy's Andrea Pavan.

Here's how the leaderboard looks after the first round of action at the Hong Kong Golf Club:

#	Player	To Par	Thursday Score
T1	Wei-chih Lu	-6	64
T1	Andrea Pavan	-6	64
T3	Cheng-Tsung Pan	-5	65
T3	Justin Rose	-5	65
T3	Jeev Milkha Singh	-5	65
T6	Lucas Bjerregaard	-4	66
T6	S.S.P. Chawrasia	-4	66
T6	Oliver Fisher	-4	66
T6	Rahil Gangjee	-4	66
T6	Graeme McDowell	-4	66

The full leaderboard can be accessed by visiting the European Tour's official website.

Recap

Rose's was a bogey-less round, as he carded one birdie on the front nine and four on the back to move to within one of the early leaders.

He picked up his final birdie of the day on the 17th, holing an impressive putt after tidy work on the approach, as shown by the European Tour:

Rose was joined in his playing group by Ryder Cup team-mate Graeme McDowell, who finished with an impressive 66 after bogeying the first, and American Dustin Johnson. 

The world No. 8, Johnson, began in startling fashion, bogeying the first two holes and eagling the par-five third before picking up one more birdie on the 15th for a one-under 69.

Leading duo Lu and Pavan both showed impressive form to set the pace in Fanling. The Italian dropped just one shot throughout his round—on the the third—and four birdies in his last six holes saw him home in style.

Victor Fraile/Getty Images

Lu started poorly, picking up his own bogey on the third, but he then birdied four, five and six to reach the turn in 32.

Another bogey on 16 was rectified with a three on the par-four 17, meaning Lu and Pavan are the men to beat come Friday.

Englishman Ian Poulter had something of a scramble in getting to the Hong Kong Open after he took the place of Rich Beem at the last minute so he could keep his chances of playing in next year's Ryder Cup alive, per Alex Myers of Golf Digest.

As noted by the Telegraph's James Corrigan, Poulter's three-under round of 67 was some effort considering his lack of preparation for the tournament:

"

Fair effort by @IanJamesPoulter in Hong Kong. No practice round, without his caddie, jetlag... all adds up to a 3-under 67, Three off lead

— James Corrigan (@jcorrigangolf) October 22, 2015"

His putting looked in decent nick as he carded five birdies and two bogeys to finish three off the lead, per the European Tour:

Low scoring was the order of the day in Hong Kong as conditions stayed fairly consistent throughout, allowing both early and late starters a decent run at the course.

With a number of top players on show, it is sure to be a high-quality and competitive next three days as the end of the season draws near.

Lu and Pavan may have set the early pace, but there is a very strong group snapping at their heels.