David Bransdon and Joost Luiten ignored a 50 minute rain delay to drench the Cengkareng Golf Club with birdies and take a share of the lead at the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesian Open.

A morning monsoon meant many of the early starters had to leave the golf course for just under an hour, but Australian Bransdon and Dutchman Luiten ignored the sodden conditions to flood the leaderboard with red numbers, notching 15 birdies between them as they posted opening scores of six under par 64.

With the leaders safely in the clubhouse, the afternoon monsoons put paid to the first day's play in Jakarta , meaning that 38 players will return to complete their first rounds at 06:45 local time on Friday morning.

Bransdon and Luiten lead no less than ten players by a single stroke (three of whom have yet to complete their first rounds), with the Ryder Cup duo of Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley on two under par after opening 68s.

Luiten, one of Europe 's most exciting young players, was in typically fearless form as he compiled his opening score, notching eight birdies and two bogeys en route to his 64. The 22 year old is brilliant to watch on the course, going for almost every pin with irrepressible aggression.

“If I have a good chance I go for it,” said Luiten. “That's the way I play. I want to win tournaments so you have to go for the pins. That's what I did today and it paid off with a lot of birdies. That's what you need to do out there.

“It was quite tough with the wind, but my putter was pretty hot today. You have to trust the wind to bring the ball back towards the target and I just hit a lot of greens, a lot of fairways and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities.

“I think I am ready to win on The European Tour. I have been close a few times and I think that if I have a good week I can win. We'll see what happens – the main thing is that you enjoy it every day and get yourself into contention come Sunday. That's what we are all looking for.”

Like Luiten, Bransdon was delighted with his opening score. The Australian, who lost his European Tour card last season, would love to regain his playing privileges in the most emphatic fashion with a victory at the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open.

“Winning here would be a great way to change everything but we will see what happens,” smiled Bransdon. “I putted really well and drove the ball well today so it was a pretty satisfying start.

“I had a great run of birdies from the second – four in a row which got me going and put me right up there which is always nice on the first day.”

About Astro Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open

The Astro Enjoy Jakarta Indonesian Open is now in its fourth year and this year pay TV provider Astro together with the Jakarta Tourism Board return as the primary sponsor for the ‘Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open'. This tournament is the result of a partnership between the Asian Tour and the Indonesian Golf Association that was introduced in 2003. The 2008 tournament offers a prize purse of US$1,200,000.00 and will feature world class players who will once again compete in this prestigious event. The Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open will be held from February 14 to 17 at the Cengkareng Golf Course, located next to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport .

About Astro

Pay TV provider Astro began operations in Indonesia on February 28, 2006 with 48 channels that consists of the Citta, Arena, Sinema and Dinasti plans. The Citta plan provides basic entertainment that includes children's entertainment, science, news, entertainment, music, film and terrestrial television. Within this plan, there are 5 (five) self produced channels that include Astro Ceria (a special channel for children), Astro Aruna (a special channel for Indonesian ‘sinetron' soap operas for the female segment), Astro Kirana (a special channel for non-Hollywood films), Astro Xpresi (an Indonesian youth lifestyle and infotainment channel), and Astro Awani (a special news and lifestyle channel). Three of the five channels, namely Astro Ceria, Astro Kirana, and Astro Aruna, have been exported to Malaysia and Brunei since September 1, 2006. The five self produced channels are what differentiate Astro from other pay TV operators.