Nick Cullen

Australian pair Nick Cullen and David McKenzie are just one shot off the lead after the opening round of the Thailand Open.

The duo carded seven-under par rounds of 65, to trail joint leaders Kim Hyung-tae of Korea and Japan's Yasunori Yoshida by a solitary stroke.

For Cullen, it was an impressive return to form after he missed the cut at the British Open last month.

The 28-year-old from Adelaide missed the cut at The Open by one stroke, but showed his class at the Suwan Golf & Country club on Thursday by carding eight birdies and one bogey in an impressive opening round.

Cullen admitted to being angry after he narrowly missed out on playing over the weekend at Royal Lytham & St Annes, but took some solace out of the disappointment fellow Australian Adam Scott endured when he lost the tournament in the final holes to Ernie Els.

"I was a little bit angry for a couple of days because the course really should have suited me," Cullen said of his Open experience.

"But then seeing Adam Scott, and what happened there, and how he handled himself afterwards, I couldn't really be too disappointed.

"He lost a lot more and was still really good about it, so that actually got me over it and I forgot about it from then."

There are a host of other Australians in contention after the opening round, with Craig Hancock (-6), Brent McCullough (-5), Rohan Blizard (-5), Scott Strange (-4), Stephen Leaney (-4) and Terry Pilkadaris (-4) all well placed after 18 holes.

Fellow Australian and defending champions Andre Stolz endured a tough day on the greens and had to settle for a two-under 70.