Local golfing sensation Taichi Kho said he had a "solid day" at the office as he shot a three-under 67 in the opening round of the Hong Kong Open in Fanling.

That put the Hong Kong, China star tied for 20th place, five shots off the lead.

Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand led the pack at the end of day one with a sizzling round of eight-under 62.

Appearing in his second Hong Kong Open, the 24-year-old Kho braved the rainy and windy conditions and teed off in a group comprising 2015 champion Justin Rose and American Patrick Reed.

"I thought it was a solid day overall," he said.

"Got off to a bit of a slow start, but I feel like Patrick [Reed] and Justin [Rose] were very encouraging of me to play well out there today, which allowed me to feed off of their energy.

"I learned a lot from how they played, which helped me get my momentum going midway through the round.

"Although the putts didn't quite drop, I still felt like I played well towards the end and did a lot of good things out there."

Kho is bidding to become the first player from the SAR to capture the Hong Kong Open after his historic victory at the World City Championship last year made him the first Hong Kong player to win on the Asian Tour.

Defending champion Ben Campbell of New Zealand, along with Australian Kevin Yuan and Kazuki Higa of Japan, were a shot behind Nitithorn at seven under 63, tied for second.

Of the other top finishers from the SAR, Jason Hak had a round of 66 and Michael Wong, like Kho, shot a 67.

For Kho, the Hong Kong Open serves as a test match for the 2025 National Games, where he is set to compete in the event co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

"I definitely want to represent Hong Kong, China," Kho said, as he weighed in on the opportunity to compete for the SAR on home soil.

"This course has stood the test of time. It's one of the best ones we play out on tour, making it a great venue for the upcoming Games."