Fox in 3-way tie with Hend, Ormsby

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Ben Fox of the USA reaped the benefits of extra hours in the gym when he shot a sparkling eight-under-par 64 to share Thursday\'s first round lead at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Air Bagan.
Fox posted a flawless round that contained eight birdies but he will have to share the lead heading in to Friday\'s second round.
He was matched at the Royal MingalardonTaylormade R11 S TP Driver
and Country Club by Australians Scott Hend, who has won once on the Asian Tour and former European and Nationwide Tour player Wade Ormsby .
Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand, a three-time Asian Tour winner, was a further shot back, tied with Asian Tour graduate Kim Gi-whan of Korea.
Fox, who is searching for his first Asian Tour victory, credited some hard work in the gym during the off-season to his fast start.
\"I worked hard in the off-season. I don\'t like working out during the season but during the break I was hitting it hard in the gym and on the practice range. I tried to get a little bit stronger in the gym and it is showing because I\'m hitting it 10 or 15 yards further by Taylormade R11 S TP Driver
this year,\" the 24-year-old said.
Playing in his third year on the Asian Tour, Fox made a 25-feet chip-in birdie from the edge of the seventh hole to tie for the lead.
\"It was one of my goals coming into the year to get off to a good start more frequently. It is nice to kind of do that in the first week. Obviously, you just don\'t plan on shooting eight-under withTaylormade R11 S TP Driver
, but it was a nice round. I got off to a good start and just kept it going,\" said Fox, who missed only two greens in regulation today.
Hend, who is among 15 Australians in the field this week, predicts a low scoring four days as he aims to end his three-year title drought.
\"I hit good shots and holed my putts. I missed a couple, but you can\'t complain when you shoot an eight-under.
\"This is the first round of the year and this is a nice round to put away because it is going to be a low score that wins the tournament. To put eight birdies out of the way, I\'m probably going to need another 12 birdies in the next three days,\" said Hend, winner of the of the 2008 Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational.
Like his co-leaders, Ormsby was also bogey-free in a round which he described as boring. He earned his Asian Tour card at Qualifying School this year and hopes to get his career back on track after losing hisTaylormade R11 S TP Driver
status in Europe.
\"I just kept giving myself chances. I had a bit of run on 15, 16 and 17. It was pretty boring golf actually but I managed to hole the putts.
\"Asia is good. I playedTaylormade R11 S TP Driver
a lot out here through the co-sanctioned events previously. Asia is a lot closer to Australia so it makes it feel a little bit like half an Australian Tour! It is nice Tour and I\'m looking forward to the year,\" he added.
Asian Tour rookie Kim of Korea made four straight birdies from the 14th hole but was disappointed not to share the lead after making his only blemish of the day on the ninth hole.
\"That stretch of birdies was good because it gave me the confident to keep going. My putting was great. I sank all my putts inside 10 feet so that was good except on the last hole,\" said the 21-year-old, who campaigned in Japan last year.
\"I wanted to playTaylormade R11 S TP Driver
on the Asian Tour because many Koreans have tasted success here like Noh Seung-yul and K.J. Choi. I hope I can be like them.\"