With four DP World Tour titles and two Japan Golf Tour wins to his name, Wu had long established himself as a proven champion at the regional level, yet an elbow injury has cut short his active time on the tours in recent years, resulting in ranking drops and a title drought.

The 39-year-old, who played in Macao in the regional exemptions category, started off strongly in the first round on Thursday, with seven birdies and three bogeys for a four-under 66 to sit just two off the lead, offering an encouraging glimpse of his prime game.

As Wu recovers to full fitness, he took pride from his performance in Macao, where he eventually finished six-under 274 overall to tie with last year's champion Catlin in 26th.

He said his new-found momentum in Macao has motivated him to make more appearances on the Asian Tour, particularly the International Series.

"I think everybody wants to play these good tournaments. And I think everybody wants to have a challenge, so it is good to have a lot of big players in the field playing together, so there can be an improvement," said Wu, who is the first Chinese mainland player to win on the DP World Tour with his Volvo China Open title in 2015.

"I have won in Japan and on the DP World Tour, but haven't had victory on the Asian Tour, and I definitely want to have that."