Kalem Richardson fired a superb 8-under 63 to lead by one shot over Padraig Harrington after the first round of the BANK BRI Indonesia Open.

Richardson, who has had two top-5 results in his last three events, rolledin eight birdies, including a 20-footer on the last hole to steal the limelightfrom Harrington, who is making his debut at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

The three-time Major Champion produced his best score in 2014 with a 64after birdies at his first two holes from close range at the Damai Indah Golf –PIK Course.

Australia’s Adam Groom battled through a leg infection to return with a67 to tie for third place alongside India’s Arjun Atwal, Thanyakon Khrongpha ofThailand and Bryce Easton of South Africa. 

Starting from the 10^th tee Richardson stayed sharp on hisfirst nine holes, as he did not play the stretch during the practice round, andwas rewarded with four straight birdies before turning in 31. 

"I guess when you haven’t played the back nine, you concentrate morebecause you don’t know where you are going. You really need to rely on theyardage book and good advice from your caddy," said the 26-year-old Richardson.

He is playing without any pressure this week after securing his fullAsian Tour card for the 2015 season after finishing tied fourth in Thailandlast week.

"I secured my Asian Tour card last week so I’m going to try and enjoythe week and see what happens," added Richardson.

"I have no pressure on me now so I’ll just try and finish as high as Ican on the Order of Merit. Obviously I want to try to get a win before theseason ends."

Harrington took advantage of his early morning start and birdied hisopening two holes before going on to add six more birdies which included a15-foot birdie on the par-3 7th hole.

"I could have picked a few spots to make more birdies. I made a nice15-footer on the 7th hole and it is always nice to hole a nice putt when youare already 6-under for the day," said the Irishman.

"Overall I’m happy with the round. Obviously it is still a long way togo. It was very nice early on and the greens are a little bit softer."

"When the wind came up after nine holes, it wasn’t really a problem forme because I had a few birdies in the bank at that stage," smiled Harrington.

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