Australia&aposs Marcus Both is in a tie for second place after a weather-interrupted opening round of the Barclays Singapore Open. Both shot four birdies and one bogey on his way to a three-under par 68 to have him one shot behind local hero Lam Chih Bing. Two-time Singapore Open champion Adam Scott had a shocking round and has little chance of winning a third title after a five-over 76 has him well down the leaderboard, while Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson also failed to fire. World No.5 five Harrington bogeyed his final hole for a one-over 72 while world No.3 Mickelson opened with an up-and-down 73 at Sentosa Golf Club. Of the other Aussies in the field, Jason King carded an even-par 71, Adam Blyth and Scott Barr shot one-over and Darren Beck shot two-over. There are still a host of players yet to finish their first rounds, including Richard Moir, Mitchell Brown and Brad Kennedy who are all one-under through 11 holes, while David Bransdon is also at one-under after eight holes. With the big names faltering, Lam took control of the US$5 million Asian Tour event with a four-under 67 in soggy conditions. The 31-year-old teed off on the back nine at the Serapong course and made an excellent start with a birdie on his first hole and three in four just before the turn. He was four under and three strokes ahead of the rest of the field after 13 holes when play was suspended at 12:05pm because of a lightning storm. On resumption two hours and 10 minutes later, he dropped his only shot of the day when he missed a 20-footer for par at the fifth but a birdie on the eighth put him back on four under to give him the clubhouse lead midway through the opening round. Austria&aposs Markus Brier, Korea&aposs Charlie Wi and China&aposs Zhang Lian-wei are all tied for third at two-under par. Lam, who secured a place at this year&aposs Open Championship with a top-four finish in the qualifier at the same course, tried to keep his feet firmly on the ground after his fine opening round. “It&aposs just another tournament for me,” said the Singaporean. “Even though it&aposs our national open and the biggest tournament on the Asian Tour, I still have to go out there and do my job no matter what. So it&aposs just going to be another day at the office for me tomorrow.” “Being familiar with a golf course is a little bit over-rated because at the end of the day, you still have to go out and produce the shots.” “But being at home, sleeping in my own bed and getting the crowd behind is definitely a boost.” Harrington, a notoriously slow starter, was let down by a bogey at the last but felt encouraged by his opening effort. “It certainly had the potential to be better but it is a 72 and I am encouraged by the way I hit it,” said the Irishman who had three birdies and four bogeys. “I feel good. I am enthusiastic about playing and keen to get out there. I played nicely out there today and that is encouraging for the next couple of days.” “I do need to score a little better but I need to be a little patient when it comes to that.” Mickelson, meanwhile, was encouraged with his score after bogeying three of his first four holes. “I know two over par does not sound good but I will actually take it. I got off to a terrible start and I was three over early,” said the American. “This is the worst chipping round I have had in years that I can remember. I hit five or six of the worst chips I have hit for a long time.” “I do not feel I shot myself out of the tournament by any means and a good round tomorrow will get me right back in it.” “Anything in the sixties will put me right back in it. I do not think anybody is going to go too far under par here.”