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The Northern Irishman fired eight birdies at Black Mountain Golf Club to lead Spain’s Carlos Pigem and Taiwan’s Chien-yao Hung by a single shot, and now hopes to avoid the curse of Friday 13th in his second round.
The five-time European Tour winner, who was part of Great Britain & Ireland’s 2001 winning Walker Cup side, did not drop a shot as he moved into a commanding position - holing from 12 feet at the fifth and nearly managing an eagle at the next before settling for a last gain of the day.
“We had ten or 11 holes with not much wind, which was an advantage teeing off early,” said Hoey.
“I hit the ball well, and it suits me that there’s a bit of length off the tee; you can carry a few corners and reach the par fives in two.
“It has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. To be bogey-free and have no fives on the card - and a course record - is a nice start. I’m swinging the club well so hopefully I can put three more good rounds together and see what happens.
“I started to hit the ball well in the Middle East, but I was coming 50th or thereabouts each week. At least I was making cuts and making money, but throwing in a few double bogeys was ruining my scorecards. Hopefully this is the start of some more bogey-free stuff.
“This is a marathon. I’m just pleased to get something out of it, because I’ve been working hard for a long time and not getting the scores. This is really satisfying to get a good score and hopefully I can follow it up tomorrow - Friday 13th is going to be lucky for me!”
Lipsky, who enjoyed a breakthrough win in Switzerland last year, finished with back-to-back gains to join co-sanctioning Asian Tour regulars Hung and Pigem on seven under, one ahead of India’s Shiv Kapur.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat led a strong home challenge on five under, but it would have been even better had the big hitter not found water and a bunker down the 18th in running up a double bogey seven.
Italian teenager Renato Paratore briefly caught Hoey with five birdies in six holes after the turn propelling him to eight under.
But the Qualifying School graduate bogeyed the seventh and dropped two shots at the next – his penultimate hole – to slip back into the group on five under, which also contained Miguel Angel Jiménez.
The Spaniard produced the day’s champagne moment when he holed his approach to the ninth for eagle and celebrated with a jig on the fairway.
Tournament ambassador Thongchai Jaidee and Ryder Cup star Thomas Bjørn both made solid starts with rounds of 69.
