Hearty start for Heraty as BRG Open gets underway
England’s Joe Heraty set the early pace at the BRG Open Golf Championship yesterday, posting a first round score of 67 to secure a single shot lead on the Nicklaus course.
Kade McBride of Australia and Thailand’s Nopparat Panichphol were the early clubhouse leaders from the morning wave, finishing on four under par.
They were later joined by Ireland’s Kevin Phelan, Australia’s Deyen Lawson, Saksit Jairak of Thailand and Naoki Sekito of Japan as the first day concluded at the US$100,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Despite a couple of dropped shots, with seven birdies on his card Heraty was feeling upbeat after posting his score.
“It was good, obviously feel like I could have had more but it’s a question of being patient, hitting good shots at the right times and not being too aggressive to some of those pins. There’s a few sneaky pins out there so overall I feel pretty good,” he said after his round.
“The wind picked up in the middle of the round which made a few tee shots and approach shots a bit tricky.
“I just tried to play a bit smart really, nothing too fancy. The greens were good. They felt a bit quicker (than the practice round) but they really are immaculate, if you roll your putt on line, you know whether its going to go in or not,” he added.
Nattawat Suvajanakorn of Thailand pictured in action at the BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang 2023. Picture courtesy BRG Golf Resort Da Nang.
Buoyed by a strong start, and even though this is his first visit to Vietnam and the Da Nang Golf Resort, Heraty has a clear idea of how he hopes to continue tomorrow.
“I plan to just keep playing aggressively conservative, that’s the only way to do it around here. You can’t try to hit the wonder shot on every hole, so just keep the mistakes off the card, and hole some more putts,” he explained.
Heading a group in eighth place was India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, winner of last week’s BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournament and the current leader of the 2023 Order of Merit. He shares the spot on three under par with Thailand’s Thanpisit Omsin.
On two under par, in 10th place, are India’s Samarth Dwivedi, Malaysia’s Amir Nazrin and Galven Green, Justin Quiban of the Philippines, Sweden’s Filip Lundell, Daniel Core of Canada and the Thai trio of Jakraphan Premsirigorn, Amarin Kraivixien and Worrasorn Suwanpanang.
Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Anh Minh, winner of the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Individual event at this year’s SEA Games, pictured in action at the BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang 2023. Picture courtesy BRG Golf Resort Da Nang.
Vietnam’s top finisher after Round One was Nguyen Nhat Long with a share of 19th place, and the talented Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Anh Minh, winner of the Bronze Medal in the Men’s Individual competition at the 2023 SEA Games, finished on even par in a share of 27th.
Recently bolstered by the additional sponsorship provided by Vietnam’s SeABank, the BRG Open Golf Championship is in its second year on the Asian Development Tour, and there are plans to include more future events in an emerging golf market.
Play continues tomorrow on the challenging Nicklaus course, one of the longest tracks in Asia and the first true Florida-style bulkhead course in Southeast Asia.
The tournament boasts a diverse international field of 144 players from across the region, including 99 ADT members who play alongside 20 professionals nominated by the Vietnam Golf Association.
India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu took advantage of a hot putter to win by four shots in the final round of the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournament on the BSD course at Damai Indah Golf today.
Playing in the penultimate group at the US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event, he posted a bogey-free round of 65 to finish on 23 under par as his rival contenders fell by the wayside.
Overnight leader Ho Yu-cheng was only able to manage par in the final day, finishing in solo second at 19 under par (269). Also playing in the final group were Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn (71) who finished in a tie for third place on 18 under and India’s Samarth Dwivedi (72) who slid back to eighth spot (272).
Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
Sharing the honours in third place with a final score of 270 were Malaysian duo Ervin Chang (65) and Amir Nazrin (68), England’s William Harrold (69) and Witchayapat Sinsrang (68) of Thailand.
Sandhu revealed after his round that while he was enjoying his first international victory, he wasn’t expecting to win as he was in the penultimate group of the day.
“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “Until the 14th or 15th hole I honestly didn’t even know if I was even co-leading or something, but then I made birdie on 15, and then on 16, and I thought, you know maybe I might have a chance, so why not push a little bit harder.
“I was only looking at the board that was with my group and I had no clue what the scores were in back or ahead, but as I walked up to the 18th green and saw I had a lead, I wasn’t expecting that for sure.
“I had some nerves going into Day Three but today felt a little more comfortable I guess. I spoke to my parents this morning and everybody was like, ‘it’s a different country but it’s the same golf, so you might as well just go play and play freely, hit it shot by shot’.”
“That’s exactly what I was telling myself with every single shot. Just keep it simple and let’s see what happens at the end of the day. I guess it worked,” he laughed.
“Yesterday I had about 18 GIRs and today also I had about 18 GIRs so I would say that the approaches were pretty much there but yesterday the putter was a little cold. Today the putter went hot at just the right time.”
Amir Nazrin of Malaysia pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
With his first victory outside of India, this win will give him more opportunities to expand his golfing career.
“I’m flying to Vietnam tomorrow and then let’s see. I would love to tee it up on the Asian Tour at Yeangder or wherever. That’s the plan, to get on the Asian Tour, so I’ll be calling my coaches and we will see what we can do.”
Ireland’s Kevin Phelan (67) shared ninth spot on 15 under par (273) with Singapore’s James Leow (68) and in 11th place (274) were Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit (64), England’s Joe Heraty (66) and Minhyeok Yang (67) of Korea.
Thailand’s Sarun Sirithon (70) finished in solo 14th with a finishing score of 275.
The Asian Development Tour tees it up once again next week at the BRG Open Golf Championship Da Nang. The US$75,000 event is being played at the Da Nang Golf Course (Nicklaus Course) from August 31 until September 2.
Joint overnight leader Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei continued to press home the advantage at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournament at Damai Indah Golf today, posting a six-under-par 66 to take a two stroke lead into the final round.
Even though he started the day feeling slightly under the weather, he was still able to post a round with eight birdies and open a slight gap on the rest of the field.
“I think my round was pretty good today,” he said after posting his score. “I had a stomach ache yesterday and I didn’t eat anything this morning so I think I played pretty well considering. I’m feeling better now but I need to rest so I can focus on my game tomorrow.”
Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn remains in contention after a round of 67 at the BSD course. The first round leader at the US$125,000 Asian Development Tour event, he is two shots back in solo second.
Jakraphan Premsirigorn of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
In joint third spot are the two young Indian contenders, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (69) who held the joint overnight lead with Ho, and Samarth Dwivedi.
Dwivedi may have missed the cut last week but he has been building momentum at Damai Indah with a 71 in the first round, a 68 yesterday and today, the low round of the tournament so far with a nine-under-par 63.
“I think I’ve hit 14 fairways out of 14 and 18 greens today so it was just a ball striking clinic,” he said after his round. “I’ve been hitting it well even from last week and actually for the last couple of months. I was just struggling to make some putts.
“I was doing a lot of block practice, so I kind of lost a little bit of creativity there. This week I stopped doing any of my putting drills so I was just putting with one ball on the green and trying to visualize it more.
Samarth Dwivedi of India pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
“I ended up holing some putts today. Believe it or not in today’s nine under, I missed three putts from inside five feet.
“You know if you had told me before the first round after missing the cut by one last week that I’d be at 16 under after three days, I’d have happily taken it,” he added.
Dwivedi will play in the final group on Saturday with Ho and Jakraphan, and although he welcomed the opportunity to go one on one with the leaders, he was looking forward to a round with his compatriot Yuvraj.
“I’m looking forward to the last round, but I don’t think it’ll be anything different. I was hoping I’d have a familiar face with me tomorrow with Yuvraj, we’d have some great banter and have fun and hopefully make a few putts.
“The Indians that are representing this week and last week are all multiple winners and they have all accomplished a lot and I feel they’re like at the level where you are not really trying to beat the other person but you are trying to beat the golf course.
“So there is like a great camaraderie between us and we all want each other to play well and we want to push each other,” he added.
England’s William Harrold also posted a low score today, his 64 with nine birdies and just the one dropped shot securing him solo fifth spot on -15.
Thailand’s Witchayapat Sinsrang (66) and Amir Nazrin (69) of Malaysia share sixth spot on -14 while the group in eight spot on -11 includes Thailand’s Tunyapat Sukkoed (67) and Sarun Sirithon (69), James Leow (66) of Singapore, Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (68), Ervin Chang (69) of Malysaia and Huang Chi (69) of Chinese Taipei.
The final round of the tournament starts on Saturday at 6.30 local time with groups of three teeing off from split tees. The last group is away at 8.09am.
India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu made the most of easier conditions with an early start, posting the low round of the day to secure joint lead after second round of the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournament at Damai Indah Golf.
His score of 64 on the BSD course put him in a tie for the lead on 13 under par with Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei, closely followed by overnight leader Jakraphan Premsirigorn of Thailand in the US$125,000 Asian Development Tour tournament.
“It was a good round, early morning start,” said Sandhu after the round. “It’s always tough to get the body going, the engine going on, but luckily my putter was hot and I started with two birdies back to back which set the momentum for the front nine.
“I knew that I was -6 through the front nine and I just kept on pushing it. I had a little bit of a hiccup on the 14th but just before that on the 13th I made an eagle from about 250 yards out,” he added.
“All in all my game is trending in the right direction, the off-season is paying out. There’s been a lot of work in the gym with my trainer and my physio, and also with my coaches, and a lot of games with the boys back home, mentors like Ajeetesh Sandhu and other Asian Tour players that are already there. Games with them help me sharpen my skills.
Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
Asked if there was one thing that had helped him particularly in the game, he was confident in his approach play. “I think it would be just hitting it into the green. I think my proximity to the hole was better than I expected it to be but as soon as I started trusting it more, the proximity to the hole was really good and obviously the putter was hot.”
Ho posted the early clubhouse lead with a score of 65 and was pleased with his progress after an opening day score of 66 despite three dropped shots.
“Today’s round was pretty good, bogey free, and only around 27 putts,” he said after his round. “My second shots were good and gave me the opportunity to get a few birdies.
With four birdies on the front nine Ho then picked up another birdie and an eagle to finish the round, with his drive leaving him just over 200 yards, and he was able to hit his four iron to within six feet.
“The course was playing a little bit easier today. I started early in the morning and there was just a little wind so it was good to play,” he said. “The green’s are not like last week, not so fast, but I think the score will probably go to -23 or -24,” he predicted.
Minhyeok Yang of Korea pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf.
Thailand’s Jakraphan maintained his momentum with a score of 68, and he holds third place going into the final two rounds.
Korea’s Min Hyeok Yang also posted a 68 to secure a share of fourth place with Malaysia’s Amir Nazrin (66), just ahead of his compatriot Ervin Chang (66), Huang Chi (67) of Chinese Taipei and the Thai trio of Sarun Sirithon (70), Witchayapat Sinsrang (65) and Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng (67) who are tied for sixth on eight under par.
One shot back in joint 11th spot on -7 are India’s Samarth Dwivedi (66), William Harrold (66) of England, Ireland’s Kevin Phelan (67), Ahmad Baig (70) of Pakistan and the leading local player, Indonesia’s Danny Masrin (70).
Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn hit a perfect round on the opening day of the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournament on the BSD course at Damai Indah Golf today, posting eight birdies with no dropped shots to lead the field on eight under par.
“It was a perfect round today, I hit eight birdies, bogey free,” he said after his round with a score of 66. “My plan this week was to hit the greens and I hit all 18 greens in regulation.
“My approach game was good, I tried to hit it pretty close to a safe spot near the pin which made it easy to putt,” he added.
“The course was good,” he said. “You just need to get the ball in the fairway and hit the greens. Some greens were firm, but you have to keep it out of the rough. If you hit it in to the rough you cannot hit the green.”
Compatriot Newport Laporojkit posted an early clubhouse lead at the US$125,000 Asian Development Tour tournament with a 65, getting off to a good start and then finishing strongly with five birdies on the back nine.
Sarun Sirithon of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournamanet at Damai Indah Golf BSD Course. Picture courtesy Damai Indah Golf.
“I had a birdie on the first par five on the front nine, which gave me some momentum. I missed a few birdie putts after that but on the back nine I made a long putt on 11 – the par three – and then after that I kept it in the fairway and made a few putts.”
He narrowly missed out on two eagles which would have seen him set some distance from the field, almost holing out from the rough on 15 and then seeing a 20 foot putt on the 18th just stop on the edge of the hole, leaving him just half an inch for birdie.
“I did a little bit of tinkering with my swing before entering this week, I had some people look at it and it’s been a lot better. My driving’s been good, kept it in play today, and my putting has improved a lot this week after I worked on it with my Dad,” he added.
Korea’s Min Hyeok Yang, one of the later starters for Round One, posted a total of seven birdies in his round to secure a share of second place on seven under par.
Danny Chia of Malaysia was another of the early leaders, finishing the morning on six under par.
“It was a solid round, I’m happy with it,” he said after his round. “The highlight’s probably the short par four. I hit a pretty good drive but I thought it’s going to go in the bunker but somehow it ended up ten feet from the hole so I putted in for eagle.
Danny Masrin of Indonesia pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur tournamanet at Damai Indah Golf BSD Course. Picture courtesy Damai Indah Golf.
“I’ve played here a few times already and I quite like the golf course. It suits my game, it’s not overly long but the greens are quite tricky so you have to putt well. It was a good start to the day, I birdied the first two holes. Hit a 15 footer on the first and then about 30 feet on the second.
“I’ve been doing some swing changes over the last six months. About three months ago it started to work well for me so I’ve been hitting a lot of good iron shots into the pin. That’s given me a lot of opportunities for birdies so I’m feeling quite comfortable with my irons at the moment.
“I missed quite a few putts today out there on the golf course. I misread a few but I’m still quite happy with six under. You make some, you miss some,” he laughed.
Chia’s score of 66 was matched by Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei and the Thai cohort of Parathakorn Suyasri, Suttijet Kooratanapisan, Panuphol Pittayarat and Sarun Sirithon.
In a group for tenth spot on five under par were Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan, Yuvraj Singh Sandhu of India, England’s Joe Heraty, Poosit Supupramai of Tahiland, Indonesia’s Danny Masrin, Ahmad Baig of Pakistan and Australia’s Deyen Lawson.
Indonesia’s Kevin Abkar endured a torrid start to his final round but kept his nerve to secure his first professional win with a one stroke victory in the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura at Gunung Geulis Country Club.
The young Indonesian, who turned professional in 2019, got off to a terrible start with four bogeys in his first five holes before he was able to get his game back on track. Three birdies followed which allowed him to make the turn and still maintain his lead, despite a further dropped shot on the way.
Thailand’s Charng-Tai Sudsom (68), who matched the course record in a sparkling first round on Wednesday, kept fighting to the last. He was tied for the honours as play drew to a close, posting a pair of birdies on his final two holes to briefly take the clubhouse lead on nine under before Akbar (72) closed the door to finish at 10 under par.
“I knew I had to make some birdies as the back nine is not that difficult,” said Akbar after his round. “I had a good run of pars, I missed a couple of birdie chances but there were a good par saves on 11, 12 and also on 16. That was an eight-footer for par. I made it, that was huge.
“I said to myself before the round that 10 under would be fine and by the time I reached 16 at nine under I thought I’d need at least one more. I hit a good second shot to two feet and made the birdie, that was key.
“I hadn’t looked at the leaderboard until we got to the last hole. I asked Agung (Budiman) how I was doing, and he said just make par and you’re good.”
Charng-Tai Sudsom of Thailand, pictured in action at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura, at Gung Geulis Country Club. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf
Playing with the course owner Agung Budiman in the US$125,000 Pro-Am event, Akbar was pleased to not only secure his first professional win, but also to make it on the Asian Development Tour. “It’s my first win since I turned pro in 2019,” he said. “I’ve only had a couple of top fives up to now but to win on the ADT is fantastic.”
The three-day best-ball format, which sees professionals partnered with local amateurs, was played this week on two courses for the first two days, with 100 professionals and 100 amateurs competing to make the 36-hole cut.
This is the first time this innovative format has been used on the Asian Development Tour, and it is similar to the format of the New Zealand Open which is part of the parent Asian Tour. For the final day, the professional players were cut to 50 and ties, although any playing in teams which made the top 20 continued in the Pro-Am competition on the final day.
Thammasack Bouahom of Lao, who had dropped off the pace after a strong start on the opening day, managed to recover with a score of 68 in the final round, securing solo third place on 202.
Thailand’s Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij advanced up the leaderboard with a second consecutive round of 67 to end the day on 205, but his first round score cost him the chance to be in contention. He shared fourth spot with Indonesia’s Syukrizal S (69) and Ryoto Furuya (69) of the USA.
In seventh spot, Jakraphan Premsirigorn of Thailand made a disappointing finish to an otherwise strong showing this week, his 72 final round score dropped him to a total of 206 following opening rounds of 67 apiece.
Thammasack Bouahom of Lao, pictured in action at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura, at Gung Geulis Country Club. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf
Rounding out the top 12 on 207 strokes, in a share of eighth spot, were Thailand’s Tawit Polthai, Minhyeok Yang of Korea, India’s Yuvral Singh Sandhu, Oliver Jacobsson of Sweden and Australia’s Deyen Lawson.
Arnond Vongvanij, who scored an albatross yesterday on the par-five sixth hole, battled back from a four-bogey front nine to score a one under par 69 and secure a share of 13th place with 208 strokes, together with Singapore’s James Leow who ended the day on 75.
In 15th place, on 209 strokes, the Thai cohort of Poom Pattaropong (68), Pattaraphol Khanthacha (68), Parathakorn Suyasri (67) and Ekpharit Wu (73) were joined by Indonesia’s Jonathan Wijono (67), all finishing on one under par.
In the Pro-Am event, the honours were taken by Witchayapat Sinsrang and Alit Jiwandana, who secured victory at -27 from a tied second position at -26 held by Tawit Polthai and Sholihuddin Amir and Yu-cheng Ho and Jannes Tjaden.
There was another tie at -25 for fourth spot, shared by Amarin Kraivixien and Gani Arieldi and Thammasack Bouahom and Leonard Husada. Sixth spot was secured by Ekpharit Wu and Wawan Setiawan while seventh spot was shared between the pairings of Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij and Luke Evan Moore; Kasidit Lepkurte and Andrew Harvey Harjanto; and Michele Ortolani and Heri Setiyono.
Tenth spot was shared by the teams of Poosit Supupramai and Andaru Djaja, and Charng-Tai Sudsom and Krishna Iskandar.
Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar was flying the flag for Indonesia on Independence Day today, posting a near flawless round of 63 to secure a lead of five shots over the field in the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura at Gunung Geulis Country Club.
His round of eight birdies and just the single dropped shot was the crowning achievement in an all-Indonesian group that included fellow Indonesian pro George Gandranata, together with course owner Agung Budiman and his younger brother Teguh.
“It was nice to play with an Indonesian group today, with George and Agung and his younger brother. It made it feel like a local tournament,” he said after his round.
“Yes, Pak Agung gave me some advice. I’ve played here two or three times this year. The greens were a little bit softer than the West course but the fairways are pretty much the same. I was just trying to hit the fairways and let the ball roll.”
Thailand’s Charng-Tai Sudsom pictured in action at the Indonesia Pro-Am at Gunung Geulis Country Club. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf
Overnight leader Charng-Tai Sudsom was unable to fully capitalise on yesterday’s score of 62, posting a one-over-par round of 71 to finish the day on seven under par and in a group at second with Australia’s Deyen Lawson, who scored a 66 on the West Course to complement his 67 yesterday.
Singapore’s James Leow made a late run, finishing strongly to also claim a share of second spot going into the final round tomorrow, a run of six birdies making up for a bogey on his first hole of the day.
The three-day best-ball format, which sees professionals partnered with local amateurs, is played this week on two courses, with 100 professionals and 100 amateurs over the first two days.
This is the first time this innovative format has been used on the Asian Development Tour, and it is similar to the format of the New Zealand Open which is part of the parent Asian Tour. For the final day, the professional players will be cut to 50, although any playing in teams which make the top 20 will continue, but playing in the Pro-Am competition only.
Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn pictured in action at the Indonesia Pro-Am at Gunung Geulis Country Club. Picture by Yulius Martinus / OB Golf
Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn had an adventurous day on the West Course, posting three bogeys, four birdies and an eagle to finish on three under par for the day, and six under overall. He shares fifth spot with Lao’s Thammasack Bouahorn who posted an even par round of 70.
Sejun Yoon, who celebrated an ace on his final hole of the day yesterday on the East Course, was unable to continue his run of form today, opening with a string of four bogeys before he was able to get his game under control and back into the red numbers. He finished the day with a 70 and sits in solo seventh place at five under par.
Ryoto Furuya of the USA leads a group in eight spot on four under par. His score of 66 made up for an opening day card of even par 70. Indonesia’s Syukrizal S was going the other way today, posting a one over par 71 after an opening round of 65.
Oliver Jacobsson of Sweden and Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu are neck and neck with a pair of 68s each, and the group in eighth spot was completed by Jaturon Duangphaichoom of Thailand, India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu and Jeremy Wendelken of the USA.
The Pro-Am competition is currently led by Witchayapat Sinsrang and Alit Jiwandana, who lead by two shots at -24 after two rounds from Yu-cheng Ho and Jannes Tjaden. Michele Ortolani and Heri Setiyono are one shot further back, followed by Tawit Polthai and Sholihuddin Amir on -20 and then the Thai duo of Suttijet Kooratanapisan and Charng-Tai Sudsom and their respective partners Rudy Halim and Krishna Iskandar.
The top ten for the Pro-Am is rounded out on -17 by Kasidit Lepkurte and Andrew Harvey Harjanto, Ekphairit Wu and Wawan Setianwan, Thammasack Bouahom and Leonard Husada and Poosit Supupramai and Andaru Djaja.
Thailand’s Charng-Tai Sudsom made the most of his first tournament in Indonesia with a sparkling 62 at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura today, with only a double bogey on the par-4 14th hole spoiling a potential course record score.
Laotian Thammasack Bouahorn (64) threatened to catch Charng-Tai as the day’s play drew to a close but a dropped shot on 17 left him two shots adrift. Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar posted the early clubhouse lead on seven under par, but ended the day sharing third place on 65 with compatriot Syukrizal S, Japan’s Naoki Sekito and Sejun Yoon of the USA.
Yoon, making his first appearance on the Asian Development Tour since 2015, had something to celebrate on his final hole of the day, recovering from a run of three bogeys on the back nine with an ace on the Par 3 ninth on the East course, with a sweetly-struck four iron holing out from 205 yards.
Charng-Tai was ebullient after his first round in Indonesia, pleased with his performance on the West Course at Gunung Geulis Country Club in Bogor and ready for an as-yet-unknown adventure tomorrow on the East Course.
“I was hitting the ball very well today, and putting very well too on the back nine,” he said after his round. He will no doubt be looking to have another go at the current course record which is 62 on the East Course playing to par 71.
“At this golf course you need to be patient and try to make some opportunities for birdies. The course is very tough, I practiced yesterday on the West Course and it’s very tricky. I’m just trying to play good golf and just be patient, and have fun.
“I started on the back nine, birdie on 13 and then a double on 14, so I was struggling a bit and trying to get my momentum back. I just kept putting the ball in play, and my putting was good on the back nine.”
Kevin Akbar of Indonesia, pictured at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura. Picture by Yulius Martinus, OB Golf.
Asked about the Pro-Am format being played for the first time on the Asian Development Tour, Charng-Tai was encouraging about the prospects of this innovative format, used previously at the New Zealand Open on the parent Asian Tour.
“It’s a different format. Very excited about it but it’s a little weird, it made me focus on myself more than i am used to. Normally we play with pros, so you always see a pro hitting from the same place where you are.”
“My partner, Krishna, first tee he drove the green so I was a bit more relaxed, he showed me round the course,” he laughed.
The three-day best-ball format, which sees professionals partnered with local amateurs, is played this week on two courses, with 100 professionals and 100 amateurs over the first two days.
The professional players will be cut to 50 and ties after the first two rounds, and any playing in teams which make the top 20 will continue on the final day, but playing in the Pro-Am competition only.
In a group on four-under-par in seventh, Jeremy Wendelken of the USA shared honours with Indonesia’s Danny Masrin and the Thai duo of Tanapat Pichaikool and Jaturon Duangphaichoom.
Yuvraj Sandhu Sandhu of India headed a group in 11th spot on three under par, together with Filip Lundell of Sweden, Australia’s Deyen Lawson and Thailand’s Pannkorn Uthaipas and Jakraphan Premisrigorn.
Poor light towards the end of the day led to play being suspended and the few players left out on the course will resume tomorrow morning at 6.30 am. Normal play for Round Two will continue at the scheduled tee times from 6.45am.
Main picture; Charng-Tai Sudsom of Thailand pictured at the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura. Picture by Yulius Martinus, OB Golf.
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