Warren may have been sharing top spot but for an incident on the 15th, when his ball was reportedly stolen after he was unable to find his tee shot.

Meanwhile, Order of Merit winner Padraig Harrington maintained his good form as he steadily climbed the leaderboard to finish at five under.

“Five-under is a good start,” he said. “I find the course tough, so it's important to get off to a good start and not be chasing and taking the wrong shot.

“The ball is releasing a lot on the greens, so five under, I can be a little more patient and take my time to attack.”

The Irishman is alongside Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol, who putted consistently well and was only let down by a double bogey on the tricky eighth.

There was disappointment for defending champion David Howell and world number one Tiger Woods.

Despite a good outward half on the back nine, Howell shot 39 coming home to leave him at one over par after a 73.

Woods, meanwhile finished one shot better, making par after recovering from a double bogey on the 11th.

Retief Goosen, making his debut in this event, carded a four-under-par 68 to be tied with KJ Choi, Johan Edfors, John Bickerton, Alejandro Canizares and Peter O’Malley.

Colin Montgomerie is three under par alongside Chris DiMarco, whose solid start subsided somewhat coming home.

Luke Donald too began well but finished with a 70, as did Volvo Masters champion Jeev Milkha Singh and Scott Strange.

Despite enjoying one of the best years of his career, world number two Jim Furyk closed a disappointing one over par having managed just three birdies throughout.

Paul Casey’s hopes of a HSBC double after winning the World Match Play at Wentworth got off to a bad start as he also finished one over.