Aug 28: Thailand’s Vanchai Luangnitikul and India’s Viraj Madappa were determined to make up for their long absence from the Asian Tour as they moved up the leaderboard of the US$500,000 Mandiri Indonesia Open with solid opening rounds on Thursday morning.

The 23-year-old Vanchai, a resident of Phuket, has been playing mainly on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) these past two seasons, but showed he was not afraid to challenge the big boys with a seven-under-par 65 at Jakarta’s Pondok Indah Golf Course. The round included just one bogey, on the par-three eighth (his 17th), but he bounced back in style with a closing birdie on the par-five ninth.

Madappa, hailing from the eastern Indian town of Kolkata, is playing on a medical exemption after missing out on nearly two years of action because of a lower disc injury in the back. He started from the first with 10 straight pars, before unleashing six birdies and a bogey in his last eight holes to finish on 67 and in tied third place.

Another Thai player, Suteepat Prateeptienchai, started with a 66 effort to place himself in solo second place in the clubhouse. The three-time Asian Tour champion’s round included an eagle two on the par-four first hole (his 10th), when he holed his wedge shot from 78 yards.

Suteepat Prateeptienchai. Picture by Graham Uden, Asian Tour.

Tied alongside Madappa at 67 were a pair of Americans, Micah Shin and MJ Maguire, and Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin.

Vanchai, who finished tied second in the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament on the ADT last year, nearly 26 kilometers down the road at Damai Indah Golf, showed his love for Indonesian courses once again with a solid round.

“My tee shots were really good all day. I kept finding the fairways and giving myself birdie chances. I made a lot of good putts early in the round and kept the momentum going,” said Vanchai, who is playing only his second Asian Tour event since his two starts in Thailand in 2022.

“I have been playing on the ADT and it has been a great training ground for me. I think I have improved a lot and am bringing all that experience into this week.”

The bogey on the eighth was because of a “bad tee shot”, but Vanchai was particularly pleased with a three-wood second shot from 305 yards on the ninth, which led to the bounce-back birdie.

Viraj Madappa of India. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

The highlight of Suteepat’s round was the eagle on the first, but also important was that he finished the round without a bogey.

“I felt great today. Everything in my game seemed perfect,” said the highest-ranked OWGR player in the field. “Obviously, played early in the morning when the wind was low.

“The golf course is in fantastic condition. It’s so much better than when we played here a couple of years ago. Hopefully, I can do the same tomorrow.”

Madappa gave himself plenty of birdie chances in his first 10 holes, but it needed a birdie putt on the 12th hole from as close as two feet to kickstart his scoring.

The 27-year-old has hardly played any events since his missed cut at the SJM Macao Open in October 2023, and impressed everyone when he won a domestic tournament in India on his comeback earlier this year.

Winner of the 2018 Take Solutions Masters on the Asian Tour at the age of 20, Madappa said the long time spent recuperating changed his perspective about golf, and that he is reaping the rewards.

“I kept giving myself chances on the front nine, but did not convert anything. Just to see something going in on the 11th hole, even if it was from two feet, got me going after that.

“I have had some lower back disc issues and did not play at all for almost 15-16 months. I got back to swinging the club properly only in March this year. And it has led to a big change in perspective and how I view things through the game.

“Just before I injured myself, I was really hard on myself, putting a lot of unnecessary pressure in terms of what I was expecting from myself. I had stopped enjoying the game. It was difficult and frustrating to stay out of the game for so long and it made me realise how much I missed golf and how much I actually loved the sport.

“So, I am coming back with that thought and the feeling of just playing with gratitude and joy. I am hitting shots like it’s fun to hit. I think that has helped a lot.”