South Africa's Tim Clark reeled off two eagles and three birdies to join Australian Scott Hend in the lead after the opening 18 holes of the European Tour co-sanctioned Australian Masters at Huntingdale here on Thursday. Clark's afternoon round of five-under 67 was interrupted by a three-hour electrical storm delay and was two shots off the pace at the time before grabbing birdies on the 15th and 16th holes in benign conditions. The world No. 43, who was runner-up in the US Masters two years ago, earlier had joined Hend in the lead after 10 holes following eagles on the downwind par five seventh and 10th holes. Hend led for most of the day after posting six birdies and a bogey in blustery morning conditions. Three players - Englishman Daniel Wardrop and Australians Anthony Brown and Michael Wright - were two shots off the pace on three under 69 along with Australian Chris Downes, who had five holes to complete his first round. Two-time major winner John Daly had a torrid opening round with a four-over 76. The American said he was just focused on survival and kept his signature driver under wraps for much of the round. Australian Robert Allenby, who swept the Masters, PGA and Australian Open in successive weeks three years ago, finished at one-over 73. Other leading Australians had their problems, with Stuart Appleby firing a 74 and three-time Masters champion Craig Parry (76). Germany edges Australia In China, rising star Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka combined superbly to give Germany the edge over Australia after the first round of the Omega World Cup here on Thursday. The pair, world ranked 26th and 212th respectively, fired eight birdies and an extraordinary eagle over the bunker-strewn Olazabal Course in their 10-under-par round of 62. It gave them a one-stroke lead over unheralded Australian pair Richard Green and Brendan James. The United States, represented by former Open winner Ben Curtis and Brandt Snedeker, lie alongside Spain and Canada in three-way share of third place on eight-under-par. The highly-fancied Swedish pair of Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson are a shot further back after firing a 65. It wasn't such a good day for defending champion Scotland, represented by Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth. Playing alongside the host nation, they failed to take advantage of the reachable par-fives in their opening round of 68 to finish six shots back of the leaders. China, too, flattered to deceive. Despite receiving tremendous support from the large, partisan crowds, neither Zhang Lianwei nor Liang Wenchong looked comfortable throughout their round of 69, which included a costly double bogey on the closing hole.
