Frenchman Christian Cevaer beat the Beijing bunkers to shoot a six-under-par 66 and grab the early lead in the first round of the China Open at a sunny Honghua Golf Club.

Cevaer held a one-stroke lead over Simon Dyson, Ross Fisher and Simon Wakefield, who were tied for second with Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Swede Peter Hanson at the event, co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours.

Ireland's Damien McGrane finished the day on level par while Peter Lawrie is currently one-under after eight holes of his first round.

Cevaer picked up a stroke by holing a bunker shot from 30 feet at the third and never looked back, sinking five further birdies in a blemish-free round.

"One of the keys for me today was my fine bunker play because I got it up and down four times. I felt really comfortable with the bunkers," said the 36-year-old, who is looking for his second career tour victory this week.

"It's a beautiful course. I am not a long hitter but have posted a good score so it is more about accurate iron play and finding the right distances."

Rookie Fisher made his European Tour debut at November's China Open, and led at one point in the third round before finishing in a tie for fourth.

"There's a long way to go but I've put myself in a good place," the 25-year-old said after his 67.

Defending champion Paul Casey, who won the title just 137 days ago in Shenzhen, and Swede Henrik Stenson, the highest ranked player in the field at 13th in the world, were late starters.

Oliver Wilson, who lost out to Casey in a playoff for the title in November, made a poor start, hitting seven bogeys and finishing at four-over for the day.