Marc Warren leads Maybank Championship after 63 in first round

Marc Warren's last European Tour win was at the Made in Denmark event in 2014

Scotland's Marc Warren compiled a fine 63 to seize an early lead in the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

Warren, 35, reached halfway in 30 shots, with four birdies and an eagle, and a nine-under total put him two clear of Thai Phachara Khongwatmai.

Khongwatmai, 17, playing in only his seventh European Tour event shot a 65 at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

The teenager is one stroke ahead of a group of six which includes England's US Masters champion Danny Willett.

Warren, a three-time winner on the European Tour, nearly lost his playing card last year but a fifth-place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October set up a strong end to 2016.

He overcame a missed cut at last week's Dubai Desert Classic to card four birdies and an eagle on his opening nine holes, before adding back-nine birdies on 12, 14 and 17 in his bogey-free round.

"I got off to a really nice start, six under for the first nine holes," said Warren. "Once the wind picked up on the back nine it was just a case of staying solid and hitting the greens.

"More of the same tomorrow. My iron play was very good today and recently I have been making a lot of birdies but a lot of mistakes as well. It was nice to get around without a bogey.

"Last week I made 11 birdies in two days and missed the cut so it's just a matter of trying to keep the positive stuff going, making the birdies, and cutting out the slack stuff which was good today."