LUCAS Herbert's hopes of winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship have taken a hit after he fired a four-over par 76 in Thursday's first round.
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The Neangar Park Golf Club product is in a tie for 45th place, nine shots behind leader Todd Sinnott.
Herbert, who started his round on the 10th hole, made the turn at one-over par before making three bogeys in his final nine holes.
The winner of the 72-hole event earns a place in next year's US Masters at Augusta.
China's Guan Tinalang, who won this event two years ago and played at the 2013 US Masters as a 14-year-old, sits in second place at four-under par.
Tianling sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the field after his round.
"I felt very comfortable today and had a good start making a lot of good putts," he said.
"I played pretty smart. You can't be too aggressive on this course. You just play safe and try to make a couple of birdies."
Herbert's Australian team-mate at the recent Eisenhower Trophy, Ryan Ruffels, is at one-under par.
Sinnott, from Melbourne, birdied his final two holes to grab the lead.
Meanwhile, Bendigo professional Andrew Martin fired an even-par 72 to be eight shots off the lead after the first round of the Perth International.
Martin is in a tie for 81st place, eight shots behid joint leaders John Wade and Thorbjorn Olesen in the $1.75 million event.
Martin mixed two birdies with two bogeys in his opening round, including a bogey on the par-four 18th hole.
West Australian Michael Sim, Scotland's Peter Whiteford, South Korean Kim Sihwan and England's Tom Lewis are equal third at six-under.
Five-time European Tour winner Brett Rumford defied his recent poor form to shoot a five-under 67, while 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel sits one stroke further back after nailing a long-range putt on his final hole.
Defending champion Jin Jeong sits even with the card, while 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner is two-under in his first competitive hit-out since succumbing to a serious neck injury in August.
Rising French star Victor Dubuisson has some work to do after finishing at one-under.