November 13: With his Asian Tour card for 2026 on the line, local star Hung Chien-yao (main picture) made a spirited start in the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open on Thursday.

Hung has never won on the Asian Tour but has kept his membership for 12 successive years.

He has been struggling this year, missing seven cuts in 11 starts and falling to No110 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

With his back to the wall, the Chinese Taipei star shot a seven-under-par 65 at the par-72 Taifong Golf Club, a venue where he won the 2022 edition of the tournament when it was part of the Asian Development Tour schedule.

Hung is two ahead of Thailand’s Poosit Supupramai (67), when first-round play was suspended at 5:22 pm, with two groups yet to finish. The second round will commence on Friday as per the schedule after the remaining players finish their first round starting 6:50 am.

Poosit Supupramai of Thailand. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.

Malaysia’s Ervin Chang, Thailand’s Chanat Sakulpolphaisan, Korea’s Wooyoung Cho and Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig finished on 68 each.

India’s Viraj Madappa made three birdies in his last five holes to shoot a 69 and rise to tied seventh in the clubhouse alongside his compatriot S Chikkarangappa, Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit, Sweden’s Charlie Lindh and Australia’s Todd Sinnott.

Hung’s best finish on the Asian Tour is a third place in the 2018 Yeangder TPC and the 2017 Queen’s Cup. He will need a big finish to the season to keep his proud record of 12 consecutive years on the Tour intact, and the 65 was a great start.

The 33-year-old said he had been having issues with the putter, but a switch to a long putter helped. It showed last week in Singapore, where he played well but could not finish better than tied 37th after getting sick and faltering in the final round.

“I already knew it would be difficult to keep my card this year. I thought I had a chance in Singapore, but I didn’t finish well. A win this week will make all the difference, but I think I will need a bit of luck to win, so I have not been thinking too much about it,” said Hung.

Ervin Chang of Malaysia. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.

“There is no pressure of losing the card…I just want to play my best. I switched to a long putter about a month ago as I had been struggling with my putting all season long.

“I was down with the flu and cough since Sunday in Singapore, but my friend, who has been on my bag for this tournament for three years in a row, took me to see the doctor earlier in the week. I am feeling better now.

“My iron play was good today and the putting was pretty solid. I made everything between 9-15 feet range.”

Poosit was another player who did not put much pressure on his putting, hitting most of his approach shots close.

“Thankfully, we were lucky in the afternoon as it was not that windy. I hit a lot of fairways and some very good putts. I chipped-in on the par-three 12th hole, which was a good one, and the only long putt for birdie was a 15-footer on the sixth hole,” said the 32-year-old, who is still looking for his first win on the Asian Tour.

Chanat Sakulpolphaisan of Thailand. Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Asian Tour

Chang, recipient of the Asian Tour’s inaugural Kyi Hla Han Future Champions Award, made two birdies on the two par fives that form the closing stretch of Taifong Golf Club, in his 68.

The 26-year-old is 75th in the Order of Merit this year and also needs a high finish. He has been trending in the right direction lately with a top 10 in Macao and a tied 14th place at the Link Hong Kong Open.

“It was pretty good. I expected the winds to be a bit stronger, according to the forecast, but surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad. Out there, I was just trying to manage my own expectations. I am having a pretty good stretch, even though I missed the cut in Singapore, and I am trying to just keep doing what I’m doing,” said Chang.

“I had two birdies coming in on the 17th and 18th, and that definitely helps a lot. I know this golf course is really easy to make mistakes on, so I just tried to be patient.”

Chanat started with a birdie on the 10th hole and then made three in a row on his back nine. The Thai is another player who needs to make a move this week, ranked 193rd in the Order of Merit at the moment.

“A birdie start is always good. And I managed to keep it going after that. I have changed my swing a bit some time ago and it is feeling more comfortable,” said Chanat.

The Taiwan Glass Taifong Open is the 18th leg of the Asian Tour’s 2025 season. There are three more events left on the schedule.