Rory McIlroy's making sure he keeps tabs on Westwood

Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy could not be separated following today's opening round of the UBS Hong Kong Open, leaving the race to become Europe's No1 on a knife-edge. Both men got round the Fanling course in a four-under par 66, three shy of clubhouse leader Robert-Jan Derkson, of the Netherlands.

Westwood leads McIlroy by £40,000 in the Race to Dubai money list ahead of next week's season-climax Dubai World Championship, where there is a £900,000 first prize.

Although the Englishman fared well today, hitting 17 out of 18 greens, he blamed unfamiliarity with Fanling for not posting a better score. The world No4 said: "The greens are puzzling. I am at a disadvantage having only played the course once before. It is pretty obvious tee to green but there is a big advantage if you've played a few tournaments around here."

By contrast, McIlroy was making his fifth trip to Hong Kong. The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland said: "I'm happy with a 66. I'm in a good position. It was nice to get off to a good start."

Derksen, who last won at the 2005 Madeira Island Open, finished with a flourish with five birdies and the only bogey of his round over his last six holes to establish a one-shot lead.

Defending champion Lin Wen-tang, of Taiwan, and Britain's David Dixon both posted bogey-free opening rounds of six under par 64 to sit tied for second place alongside Frenchman Gregory Bourdy.

Derksen said: "It was very good. I didn't hit many bad shots, just one three putt at 16. I hit almost all the greens and fairways to give myself chances."

Tiger Woods was on form today, posting a six-under-par 66 to lead the first round of the Australian Masters.

The world No1 is on his first visit to Australia for 11 years and his presence drew thousands of fans to Melbourne's Kingston Heath course.

Woods was even caught in one of the long traffic jams surrounding the venue before his 7.30am tee-off time. But once on the course, he brushed off the pressure of galleries packed six-deep on every hole and delivered a master class during his seven-birdie, one-bogey round.

Woods, being paid £1.4 million simply to turn up for the tournament, proved value for money. Referring to the legions of spectators that greeted his birdies with raucous cheers but proved otherwise hushed and reverential, he said: "The people were extremely respectful. They were actually trying to police themselves which is great because you don't find that very often."

Capitalizing on benign early morning conditions, the 14-time major champion attacked the greens with gusto.

The strategy paid off with a birdie on his third hole, the par-five 12th. Woods then notched another six birdies, including four in five holes on the more generous front nine, before blotting his copybook with a bogey on the par-four last after pulling his tee-shot into the trees.

Meanwhile, Seve Ballesteros has accepted an invitation to become an honorary member of golf's ruling body, the Royal and Ancient Club of St Andrews.