Artemio Murakami shot a five-under par 67 to trail Kodai Ichihara of Japan by two strokes at the start of the $500,000 Vietnam Masters at the Vietnam Golf and Country Club in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam yesterday.
Murakami, with one victory on the Asian Tour last season, kept it steady on the greens as he rolled in six birdies against a lone bogey.
The Filipino shotmaker shared fifth place with Thai ace Thongchai Jaidee, Korean Young Nam, Indian Digvijay Singh and Rhys Davies.