Here’s the players reaction after each round of the am green IGPL Bharath Classic last week, where Charlie Lindh [main picture] triumphed.

First Round

Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong, who had just finished third in the previous week’s ADT event on the same course, after his opening round 65 (-7) which led the field:

• “I felt like I hit in good positions quite a lot, and I planned my way around the golf course pretty well. That was the key takeaway that I learned from last week – where I want to leave the golf shot.”

On the difference in course set up from the ADT event:

• “The course is a bit different from what we played last week, because for the first two rounds, they shortened most tees. Today, they tipped it out every hole and the wind felt much stronger, which makes it a little bit more difficult.”

Karandeep Kochhar from India, who had also played in the ADT event the week before, on his first round 66:

• “I think I played really well, really consistent all day. I thought I hit the ball really well last week as well, but my putting was just not there. The pace on the greens wasn’t there. I put in a lot of work over the weekend and the first three days here from Monday to Wednesday, and all that work was really helpful today.”

About the change in conditions from the previous week he said:

• “The conditions weren’t easy. I think today was definitely a little windier than last week. The tees were also pushed back compared to last week. It made a lot of difference because on a couple of holes, what lines you take off the tee changes. I hit a hybrid on one par-three and a couple for my second shots on par-fours. The course was definitely playing longer.”

Austrian Niklas Regner on his 66 in the first round:

• “I made some swing changes last week with my coach (Dominic Angkawidjaja) in Austria. While it’s not any major changes, it’s pretty much going back to where I’ve been when I played my best. It was just a two-and-a-half-hour session and I kind of felt that’s where my swing should be. I gained a little bit of confidence as well in the driving range and played quite decently in that practice round yesterday and on Tuesday. So yeah, it was pretty cool that first round went that good.”

Second Round

Settee Prakongvech from Thailand, who was coming into the week with five missed cuts in a row after his 65 to share the lead:

• “I just started to play better. I mean, everything came together, I hit a lot of fairways and good approach shots, and was lucky to make some putts. I mean, not easy putts, but I just tried my best and I made some.”

Co-leader Runchanapong when asked about his good results on the ADT and All Thailand Tours this season after a year on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025:

• “I feel like my mental game has improved from last year, and my ball striking has improved. I’ve been able to hit some shots in tough situations, but I haven’t been able to capitalise from those events. But it’s all experience from that. I was struggling with financial stuff last year, with playing with a lot of expenses playing in the U.S. So, I think that made me a little bit stronger, and having a mindset that golf is not playing about money, it’s about just enjoying and having fun.”

Fellow Thai Ekpharit Wu after his 67 on his mindset playing in windy conditions:

• “Well, I have learned one thing, to trust the wind to be a friend before going to play every day on this course. So, yep, it’s very helpful. Today overall was very good for me, because I could handle these conditions, so I’m happy for that.”

Third Round

Sweden’s Charlie Lindh, who finished second in the KOLON Korea Open recently, after moving up to T2 after 67 on Saturday:

• “It was a really good start to the day. We said when we came out that we need to be ready from the first hole to make birdies. Because the wind was very calm compared to yesterday, and we were a couple under right from the start, so yeah, that was good. I still played well despite the dropped shots. I had a lot of chances coming in, it was just that the putts dropped on the front nine, but got a couple back on the last few holes.”

On performing well in very different conditions compared to his runner-up in Korea:

• “I think if you’re playing well, it doesn’t really matter what type of course you’re playing, as long as you have your head with you, like you just need to adjust the aim a little bit. And obviously, compared to the last tournament in Korea, you can fire at almost every pin here, which is a bit more fun to play because you can make birdies. Which you can really do out there.”

Runchanapong on his 71 which put him in T2 going into the final round:

• “It was pretty slow, got off to a bogey start, but managed to make a birdie on hole three. I felt like today I didn’t hole a lot of putts and made some poor shots. I think I’m in a pretty good spot for tomorrow’s final round. I’m just going to keep playing the way I played for the past couple of weeks, and hopefully, some putts will drop tomorrow. Just trying to stay in the present.”

Englishman Sam Broadhurst, another one of the previous week’s ADT players, shot a 65 on moving day to make a big jump on the leaderboard:

• “Yeah, I played solid, hit the ball well tee to green, and hold a couple of putts, which didn’t happen yesterday, so that was the main difference. I feel like my game’s been pretty good, even last week, tee to green, so just keeping it in play, and trying to attack when I could, really.”

Final Round

Lindh after firing a 64 on Sunday to win his first Asian Tour event:

• “I mean, feels good, feels really good. When everything settles a little bit, I’ll realise what I’ve done today. But yeah, I’ve been playing good coming into this week, and I’ve been very, very excited to play last couple of months, really, because the game has been feeling better, and got some good results today.”

About his strategy in the final round:

• “Well, I was firing at every pin from the start, almost birdied the first and second, but got it on three and five, whatever. I just kept firing on pins, and I made a good putt on hole number six, I think, for a longer one for birdie. When I made that one, I thought to myself, like, all right, I got one shot to play with, and until I drop that shot, I can fire at everything.”

Asked if he knew how he was standing during the round he said:

• “No, there were no leaderboards, and I found out on 18. I mean, like looking ahead, there were a lot of carts in the group in front, so I knew that someone was playing well. And I had a little sneak on that when they reported a score, so I had a had a good idea, but I thought on the last that I needed to at least make birdie to go to a play-off. But I said to my caddie, like this is for a win, and made it so, yeah, super happy.”

On making eagle on the 18^th hole to win:

• “Yeah, that was awesome. I mean, it’s a five- or six-meter uphill putt from just outside the green, and had a good look at it, and I said to myself, just put a good stroke on it, and I did and it went in.”

Joint runner-up Settee about the result after leading by three shots going into Sunday:

• “It was just a bad start and maybe some unlucky shots, but I could come back from that. I thought I didn’t hit my tee shots as good as yesterday, but I also missed some short putts. I’m ok with tied second though, I missed five cuts in a row before this tournament, so finishing second is a good week.”

June 7: Sweden’s Charlie Lindh, second in his last outing at the Kolon Korea Open, once again showed the importance of seizing the momentum in golf when he secured his maiden title on the Asian Tour by winning the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic in Morocco.

It was a grandstand finish for the 28-year-old, who eagled the last hole to win by four shots at 18-under par total, having started the day three behind the overnight leader, Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech. The eight-under par 64 was also the best round of the tournament.

Settee could only muster a 71 on the day when it mattered most and fell to a tie for second place at 14-under with tall American Charles Porter (66).

Porter had reached 16-under after 17 holes and was tied with Lindh playing the last, but he pushed his second shot into the beach and proceeded to make a disappointing double bogey.

Charlie Lindh of Sweden. Picture courtesy: FRMG

Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut shot a 66 and jumped to tied fourth place alongside England’s Sam Broadhurst (68). American Marcus Plunkett also shot a 66 to move to tied sixth place at 12-under where he was joined by the Thai duo of Poom Saksansin (69) and Runchanapong Youprayong (70).

The tournament was co-sanctioned by the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), and Karandeep Kochhar (68) was the organisation’s top performer at tied ninth. Ayoub Lguirati (69) was the leading Moroccan star, finishing tied 13th at nine-under.

The winning cheque of US$90,000 takes him to third place in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and will boost his motivation ahead of next week’s US$2 million International Series Morocco.

“It feels good…feels really good. Feels like I’m still focused, but when everything settles a little bit, I will realise what I have done today. I have been playing good coming into this week, and I have been very, very excited to play golf the last couple of months, because the game has been feeling better. And thankfully, I got some good results today,” said Lindh, whose win came a day after the Swedish National Day and with his childhood friend Isac Bondesson on his bag.

On the 18th, Lindh reached the edge of the green in two shots, and then putted from the fringe some 20 feet from the pin for the eagle.

Charles Porter of the USA. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

On Saturday after his round, Lindh said he wanted to be aggressive and make some early birdies.

“I was firing at every pin from the start, almost birdied the first and second, but got it on three and five. I just kept firing on pins, and I made a good long putt on hole number six,” said Lindh, who hails from a tiny village of less than 600 people near the southern Swedish city of Kristianstad.

“When I made the birdie on the sixth, I thought to myself, ‘all right, I got one shot to play with, and until I drop that shot, I can fire at everything’.”

Settee seemed out of sorts in the first few holes and made three bogeys in his first eight holes. He then turned it around with four birdies in the next 10 holes.

Settee Prakongvech of Thailand. Picture by Steve Bardens/Asian Tour.

“It was just a bad start and maybe some unlucky shots, but I could come back from that. I thought I did not hit my tee shots as good as yesterday, but I also missed some short putts,” said the 31-year-old from Bangkok.

“I am ok with tied second, though. I missed five cuts in a row before this tournament, so finishing second is a good week.”

It was a disappointing end for Porter, who made the cut in stunning fashion on Friday by making four birdies in his last five holes. He then shot a 65 on Saturday to move up the leaderboard. He made seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey in his first 16 holes, before the disaster on the 18th hole.

The Asian Tour moves 180 kilometers north to the capital city of Rabat for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

June 6: Settee Prakongvech (main picture) did enough hard work in the middle of his round to overcome a dry opening and closing stretch of holes and open a three-shot lead going into the final day of the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic.

The 31-year-old from Bangkok, who is searching for his first title on the Asian Tour since turning pro in 2014, made three birdies in a row from the fifth hole onwards, and then added one more on the 12th for a four-under par 68 that elevated him to solo lead at 13-under.

Overnight joint leader Runchanapong Youprayong (71) slipped after a late double bogey to tied second place at 10-under alongside Sweden’s Charlie Lindh (67). Both players are also looking for their maiden win on the Asian Tour.

England’s Sam Broadhurst, son of Paul Broadhurst, winner of six DP World Tour titles in over 500 appearances, matched the lowest round of the day – a seven-under 65 – to climb to tied fourth place with Thailand’s Poom Saksansin (67) at nine-under.

The tournament is co-sanctioned with the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), with Karandeep Kochhar (70) leading the charge for its members in tied 10th place. Ayoub Lguirati added a 70 to remain the top Moroccan player, tied 16th at six-under par.

Runchanapong Youprayong of Thailand. Picture courtesy: Storyline/IGPL.

Settee made just one birdie in the four par-five holes and started his birdie run on the par-three fifth with what he called one of his best shots of the day. A strong headwind was blowing but he held a four-iron against it to four feet.

The Thai star felt the fact that he birdied only one of the four par-fives on the golf course was a missed opportunity to open an even larger lead at the top.

“I missed like a five-foot putt on the third and then again on the 18th. Both are par-five holes,” said the winner of the Blue Canyon Open on the Asian Development Tour in 2022.

“Everything felt the same as yesterday. I hit my tee shots very well, and hit my approach shots good, but I missed some short putts. It’s okay…the game is still in good shape.”

On Swedish National Day, Lindh decided to celebrate early on the golf course. His plan for the round was to come out swinging and make a few birdies early, and he did just that with two in the first three holes.

Lindh, a three-time champion on the Nordic Golf League, dropped shots on the 10th and 12th holes, but seven birdies lifted him into contention.

Charlie Lindh of Sweden. Picture courtesy: Korea Golf Association.

“It was a really good start to the day. We said when we came out that we need to be ready from the first hole to make birdies. Because the wind was very calm compared to yesterday, and we were a couple under right from the start, so yeah, that was good,” said Lindh, who continued his good form from the Kolon Korea Open, where he had finished second.

“I still played good despite the dropped shots. I had a lot of chances coming in, it was just that the putts dropped on the front nine, but got a couple back on the last few holes.”

Runchanapong started with a bogey, but three birdies pulled him back to -2 for the round and in touch with Settee. However, a double on the par-5 14th ruined his card for the day.

“It was pretty slow, got off to a bogey start, but managed to make a birdie on hole three. I felt like today I didn’t hole a lot of putts and made some poor shots, I think I’m in a pretty good spot for tomorrow’s final round,” said the 26-year-old.

“I’m just going to keep playing the way I played for the past couple of weeks, and hopefully, some putts will drop tomorrow. Just trying to stay in the present.”

Sam Broadhurst of England. Picture by Jason Butler/Asian Tour.

On his 65, Broadhurst said: “I played solid, hit the ball well off tee to green, and holed a couple of putts, which didn’t happen yesterday, so that was the main difference.

“They pushed a couple of the par-three tees up, which made it a lot easier, and the wind was a lot calmer compared to the last couple of days.”

American Charles Porter (65) matched the lowest round of the day and moved to tied sixth place at eight-under alongside compatriot MJ Maguire (69), England’s Steve Lewton (68) and South Africa’s Ian Snyman (69), who is looking for his second win on the Tour in his last three starts.

The tournament, which forms part of the Asian Tour’s three-week visit to Morocco, is co-sanctioned by IGPL. After back-to-back tournaments at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, built on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Asian Tour will move to Rabat next week for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

June 5: Settee Prakongvech (main picture) and Runchanapong Youprayong opened up a three-shot lead in the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic as they made it an all-Thailand affair at the top of the leaderboard after Friday’s second round.

Settee, playing in the morning session, handled the tricky windy conditions at the oceanside Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort course brilliantly in making a bogey-free seven-under par 65. That took him to nine-under par total at the halfway stage, where he was joined by overnight leader Runchanapong, who survived a double bogey-bogey stretch in his round of 70.

Another Thai player, Ekpharit Wu, winner of the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open last year, showed his love for windy golf courses once again, shooting a 67 to move into a tie for third place at six-under par alongside Austrian Niklas Regner (72).

Karandeep Kochhar (73) was the best-placed player from the tournament’s co-sanctioning partners Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), tied for fifth place at five-under. He was joined there by Indian teenager Kartik Singh (69), Philippines’ Lloyd Jefferson Go (71), American MJ Maguire (70), Sweden’s Charlie Lindh (70), South African Ian Snyman (72) and New Zealand’s Nick Voke (72).

Runchanapong Youprayong of Thailand. Picture courtesy: Storyline/IGPL.

Ayoub Lguirati was the top Moroccan player after a solid round of 67 lifted him to tied 12th place at four-under par.

Settee came into the tournament having missed cuts in each of his last five starts. But on a difficult scoring day that tested the Asian Tour field, he found his touch.

While some of the players spoke about the two-to-three club wind as the day progressed, the 31-year-old seemed to be playing in a bubble of his own. He made four birdies on the front nine, and as the wind picked up further, he added three more on the back nine. That included a birdie on the long par-4 fourth hole that Settee said “felt like an eagle”.

“I think that I am a better player in the wind because I hit it low. So, it’s not affecting my ball flight too much,” said the 31-year-old, who is yet to win on the Asian Tour.

“I just started to play better. Everything came together. I hit a lot of fairways and hit some good approach shots. And, I was lucky to have made some putts. They weren’t easy putts, but I just tried my best and made them.”

Ekpharit Wu of Thailand. Picture courtesy: Storyline/IGPL.

Runchanapong started his round from the 10th tee with a birdie when he slotted home a 20-footer birdie putt. That lifted his mood immediately and he kept playing solid golf to make four more birdies. However, his score was impacted by a double bogey on the par-4 fourth hole (his 13th).

“My front nine was good. The birdie on the 10th hole kind of got things going. It was blowing out there for sure. But on the back nine, we had to wait a little bit on the fourth and that kind of tightened my back a little bit. Just made a bad swing there. But overall, I was very solid and I am happy how I handled myself throughout the adversity out there,” said the 26-year-old, looking for his first Asian Tour win.

“I hit it left off the tee and made a double. It happened to me last week as well (playing an ADT event at the same course where he finished third). I made a seven back then. Luckily, I made a six today, so that was good.”

Ekpharit started from the 10th tee and made just one bogey – on the par-four sixth hole late in his round. But he more than made up for that with a birdie on his closing hole, the ninth.

“Today was very good. I can handle these conditions, so I’m happy for that,” said Ekpharit. “I felt like I had more power, more energy, today. I think it’s because I take a lot of rest.

“I have this one thing… like I trust the wind to be a friend before going out to play on courses like this. That is very helpful.

“That birdie on the ninth was probably my best of the day. I made a long putt, about 20 feet, and I’m very happy about that one.”

Regner, winner of an ADT event in the African continent last year, made four birdies, but lost that advantage with four bogeys.

“It wasn’t as good as yesterday. I would say even the wind was not picking up as much as yesterday in the first few holes, but it was quite strong in the last few holes. The pins were also a little bit more tucked on the greens, so yeah, overall, I’m happy with minus six after two rounds,” he added.

Karandeep Kochhar of India. Picture courtesy: Storyline/IGPL.

Kochhar, who also won an ADT event in Egypt last year to regain his card on the Asian Tour, was disappointed with two late birdies on the fourth and ninth holes.

“I got a little unlucky on the last. Just had a small putt of four-odd feet. I thought I hit a good putt, but it just went the other way. Definitely, don’t want to finish with a three-putt on the last, but I still think I played really well today. May be, missed two small putts coming in,” said Kochhar, who sank a long 30-footer putt for birdie on the 17th hole.

“Would have loved to have those two short putts back, but other than that, I’m not too concerned. The putting actually has been very good because I’ve worked on it a lot over the weekend.”

The tournament, which forms part of the Asian Tour’s three-week visit to Morocco, is co-sanctioned by IGPL. After back-to-back tournaments at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, built on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Asian Tour will move to Rabat next week for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

June 5: Settee Prakongvech (main picture) came to the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic having missed cuts in each of his last five starts. But on a windy day that tested the Asian Tour field at the oceanside Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, the Thai player found himself on top of the leaderboard following a sublime seven-under-par 65 round on Friday.

Settee shot the best round of the morning tee times, and added to his 70 in the opening round Thursday, he moved to nine-under total at the halfway stage.

Compatriot Ekpharit Wu, winner of the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open last year, showed his love for windy golf courses once again, shooting a 67 and tying for second place in the clubhouse alongside Austrian Niklas Regner (72) at six-under.

Indian teenager Kartik Singh (69) moved up to five-under total alongside Karandeep Kochhar (73), who was the best-placed player from the co-sanctioning partners Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), Philippines’ Lloyd Jefferson Go (71) and American MJ Maguire (70).

Ekpharit Wu of Thailand. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Overnight leader Runchanapong Youprayong was among the players playing in the afternoon session.

While some of the players spoke about the two-to-three club wind as the day progressed, Settee seemed to be playing in a bubble of his own. He made four birdies on the front nine, and as the wind picked up further, he added three more on the back nine. That included a birdie on the long par-4 fourth hole that Settee said “felt like an eagle”.

“I think that I am a better player in the wind because I hit it low. So, it’s not affecting my ball flight too much,” said the 31-year-old, who is yet to win on the Asian Tour.

“I just started to play better. Everything came together. I hit a lot of fairways and hit some good approach shots. And, I was lucky to have made some putts. They weren’t easy putts, but I just tried my best and made them.”

Ekpharit started from the 10th tee and made just one bogey – on the par-four sixth hole late in his round. But he more than made up for that with a birdie on his closing hole, the ninth.

“Today overall was very good for me, because I can handle these conditions, so I’m happy for that,” said Ekpharit. “I felt like I had more power, more energy, today. I think it’s because I take a lot of rest.

“I have this one thing… like I trust the wind to be a friend before going out to play on courses like this. That is very helpful.

“And yes, that birdie on the ninth was probably my best of the day. I made a long putt, about 20 feet, and I’m very happy about that one.”

Karandeep Kochhar of India. Picture by Chris Symes/Photosport.

Regner, winner of an ADT event in the African continent last year, made four birdies, but lost that advantage with four bogeys.

“It wasn’t as good as yesterday. I would say even the wind was not picking up as much as yesterday in the first few holes, but it was quite strong in the last few holes. The pins were also a little bit more tucked on the greens, so yeah, overall, I’m happy with minus six after two rounds,” he added.

Kochhar, who also won an ADT event in Egypt last year to regain his card on the Asian Tour, was disappointed with two late birdies on the fourth and ninth holes.

“I got a little unlucky on the last. Just had a small putt of four-odd feet. I thought I hit a good putt, but it just went the other way. Definitely, don’t want to finish with a three-putt on the last, but I still think I played really well today. May be, missed two small putts coming in,” said Kochhar, who sank a long 30-footer putt for birdie on the 17th hole.

“Would have loved to have those two short putts back, but other than that, I’m not too concerned. The putting actually has been very good because I’ve worked on it a lot over the weekend on it.”

The tournament, which forms part of the Asian Tour’s three-week visit to Morocco, is co-sanctioned by IGPL. After back-to-back tournaments at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, built on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Asian Tour will move to Rabat next week for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

June 4: Runchanapong Youprayong, who finished third in last week’s Asian Development Tour (ADT) event here at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, took advantage of his familiarity with the golf course to open a one-shot lead in the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic at the same venue.

The Thai star needed to finish inside the top-two to guarantee himself a spot in this week’s Asian Tour event but played his last 10 holes to one-over par. Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman birdied the last hole to finish runner-up and clinched the spot. Runchanapong then had a bit of an anxious wait before getting his entry confirmed.

The 26-year-old from Bangkok made the most of the situation by shooting eight birdies in a superb round of seven-under par 65, jumping to the top of the leaderboard and raising hopes of his maiden win on the Asian Tour.

Karandeep Kochhar, another player who learned a lot from his outing here last week – albeit through a missed cut – shot a 66 and was tied for second place alongside Australia’s Will Florimo and Austria’s Nicklas Regner.

Karandeep Kochhar of India. Picture courtesy: IGPL.

The tournament, which forms part of the Asian Tour’s three-week visit to Morocco, is co-sanctioned by the Indian Premier Golf League (IGPL), and Kochhar was the best-placed IGPL player.

Two of the hottest players on the Tour – South Africa’s Ian Snyman and New Zealand’s Nick Voke and Aussie Jed Morgan were in tied fifth place with rounds of 67.

The 26-year-old Runchanapong started from the first tee, birdied two of the first three holes before making his only bogey of the day on the par-4 fourth. He was six-under par for his last 11 holes.

“I felt like I hit in good positions quite a lot, and I planned my way around the golf course pretty well,” said Runchanapong, who also has three top-three finishes on the All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT) this year. “That was the key takeaway that I learned from last week – where I want to leave the golf shot.

“I made a lot of birdies, but my favourite one was the chip-in on the ninth hole. It was playing downwind and I hit it long, over the green. I didn’t calculate that well. It was like a 15-yard shot from the rough and I holed it.

“The course is a bit different from what we played last week, because for the first two rounds, they shortened most tees. Today, they tipped it out every hole and the wind felt much stronger, which makes it a little bit more difficult.”

Kochhar, from the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, missed the cut last week with two rounds of 73. After making seven birdies and a solitary bogey on Thursday, he said he spent a lot of time working on his game, especially his putting.

“I think I played really well, really consistent all day. I thought I hit the ball really well last week as well, but my putting was just not there. The pace on the greens wasn’t there. I put in a lot of work over the weekend and the first three days here from Monday to Wednesday, and all that work was really helpful today,” said Kochhar, winner of an ADT event in Egypt last year.

“The conditions weren’t easy. I think today was definitely a little windier than last week. The tees were also pushed back compared to last week. It made a lot of difference because on a couple of holes, what lines you take off the tee changes. I hit a hybrid on one par-three and a couple for my second shots on par-fours. The course was definitely playing longer.”

Will Florimo of Australia. Picture courtesy: IGPL

Regner, who also won an ADT event in Egypt last year, said he made some swing changes with his coach in Austria and was delighted to see results so quickly.

“I made some swing changes last week with my coach (Dominic Angkawidjaja) in Austria. While it’s not any major changes, it’s pretty much going back to where I’ve been when I played my best. It was just a two-and-a-half-hour session and I kind of felt that’s where my swing should be,” said Regner.

“I gained a little bit of confidence as well in the driving range and played quite decently in that practice round yesterday and on Tuesday. So yeah, it was pretty cool that first round went that good.”

Florimo, winner of the Heritage Classic on the PGA Tour of Australasia earlier this season, made three birdies on either side of the golf course in his 66.

“I had a week off, which was nice. I did not touch any clubs. It was really nice from tee-to-green today and I hit it really well. But I only holed one 16-footer, and I did not touch the hole from outside five feet any other time,” said the Brisbane resident.

After back-to-back tournaments at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, built on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Asian Tour will move to Rabat next week for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.

June 4: Runchanapong Youprayong was hoping to get into the field after failing to secure his place in the US$500,000 am green IGPL Bharath Classic despite finishing third in last week’s Asian Development Tour (ADT) event at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort. Not only were his prayers answered, but the Thai star also made the most of the situation by jumping to the top of the leaderboard.

Runchanapong shot a seven-under-par 65 in the morning session of the first round of the US$500,000 tournament that is co-sanctioned by the Indian Premier Golf League (IGPL) to edge ahead of Australia’s Will Florimo (66), and the two red-hot players on the Asian Tour – South Africa’s Ian Snyman and New Zealand’s Nick Voke (both 67). Another Aussie, Jed Morgan, joined them in tied third place after the morning session with a bogey-free 67.

The 26-year-old from Bangkok needed to finish in the top-two of the am green IGPL Morocco Rising Stars 2026, but played his last 10 holes to one-over par, while Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman birdied the last hole to finish ahead of Runchanapong.

Runchanapong, who started from the first tee, birdied two of the first three holes before making his only bogey of the day on the par-4 fourth. He was six-under par for his last 11 holes.

“I felt like I hit in good positions quite a lot, and I planned my way around the golf course pretty well,” said Runchanapong, who also has three top-three finishes on the All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT) this year. “That was the key takeaway that I learned from last week – where I want to leave the golf shot.

“I made a lot of birdies, but my favourite one was the chip-in on the ninth hole. It was playing downwind and I hit it long, over the green. I didn’t calculate that well. It was like a 15-yard shot from the rough and I holed it.

“The course is a bit different from what we played last week, because for the first two rounds, they shortened most tees. Today, they tipped it out every hole and the wind felt much stronger, which makes it a little bit more difficult.”

Florimo, winner of the Heritage Classic on the PGA Tour of Australasia earlier this season, made three birdies on either side of the golf course in his 66.

“I had a week off, which was nice. I did not touch any clubs. It was really nice from tee-to-green today and I hit it really well. But I only holed one 16-footer, and I did not touch the hole from outside five feet any other time,” said the Brisbane resident.

South African Snyman has been in fantastic form with three top-10s in his last three starts, a run that included his maiden Asian Tour title in the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open last month, and the 30-year-old brought his form to Morocco.

Bogey-free for the round, the 30-year-old said the stunning Mazagan Beach course reminded him of courses back home in Cape Town area.

“I am happy. Kept it low and found lots of greens and fairways. This almost feels like I’m back in Cape Town. I think the grass is similar, and the wind was kind of similar. So, just put the ball on the back foot, trap it, and yeah, the wind doesn’t do too much when you hit it low,” said the highest-ranked player (No296) in the field.

Voke, who hasn’t finished outside the top-26 this year in 11 starts, barring a disappointing tied 53rd place at the 105th New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort, finished his round with his only bogey of the day on the par-5 18th hole, which was playing downwind.

“A little bittersweet. I played well. It was solid, and hit a lot of really good shots and holed some really good putts. The bogey on the last, a downwind par-5 coming home, left a little sour taste in the mouth, but I’ll still have a nap tonight and have a few chocolate bars,” said the 31-year-old, who is still searching for his first win on the Asian Tour.

After back-to-back tournaments at Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, built on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, the Asian Tour will move to Rabat next week for the US$2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco.