Danthai lays down early marker at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup
Rahil Gangjee (Ind)
I’m loving this place. It has been a year and it’s awesome! But it has been intense especially with me trying to learn how to play on each golf course here. Every golf course is in perfect condition and they have been a good challenge. I have a few issues with trying to remember holes because you play on so many new golf courses and you tend to forget a few holes. Hopefully, it gets better this year as I’ve played an entire year in Japan already. It can get a little demoralising when you know you should be doing better and playing to your full potential. But I have gone through those phases before and I knew the kind of emotional turmoil that I will be going through. It was tough but I took it as a challenge. I worked with my mental coach on what’s happening and why it’s happening. I’ve also worked a lot on my technique. And my game has now changed.
Adilson Da Silva (Bra)
I’m happy I played well last week. I hit the ball well, drove it well and I did not miss many fairways last week. My putting was really good too. I’m happy so coming into this week, I have high expectations. I feel that this golf course suits my game as it’s fairly narrow. I really like Japan and I’m considering whether to try for the Qualifying School now. Winning in Taiwan last year made me see things differently. It just provides you with a brand new perspective. You feel like you can win in any tournament you play in.
Zach Murray (Aus)
I’m really excited as my game is in good shape. I missed a couple of shots last week in China but overall, I’m still feeling very confident about my game. I have a lot of different experiences since Qualifying School. Of course, winning in New Zealand was amazing and it has been a bit of a whirlwind. I sort of calmed down now and I’m settling in things. I want to continue putting in more good performances and try to get as high as I can on the Order of Merit. I’m enjoying my time in Asia but I’m also hoping to see if I can play more in Europe as too.
Prayad Marksaeng (Tha)
I like playing in the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup because I got a good track record at this event. I won this event in 2008 although it was not on this golf course. But it’s still feels good to play in an event which you know you’ve won before. I’ve been playing in Japan for almost 25 years already and I’m very familiar with the golf courses here. I’m still young but it great to see the even younger boys from Thailand doing well. They just need to continue to gain more experience, playing in big events like this to gain more exposure and get used to the various playing conditions.
Ben Campbell (Nzl)
When I was an amateur, I played a few events in Japan including this one and I really enjoyed my time here. The courses are always in amazing conditions and I always love coming back. It’s awesome to see events like this giving opportunities to amateurs because as an amateur, you want to come out and test yourself against the pros. You want to be able to benchmark yourself against the pros. It has been good playing on the Asian Tour. I played well enough last year to keep my card and I was off to a good start this season. It’s a great Tour and it’s not a massive distance away from home. It’s nice to be able to spend some time at home too.
Shinichi Mizuno (Jpn)
The last time I played on the Japan Tour was when I was 17. So it has been a really long time and I’m just excited and happy to be back. I don’t really come back to Japan as often as I would like to. I only come back whenever I play in tournaments or the beginning and end of the year to see my grandparents. It has been a steep learning curve and I haven’t been able to post a good result since that breakthrough on the ADT in Malaysia last year. But I got a good feeling that my game is coming back and I need to be more confident of myself. If I can do that, I should be able to do well. I haven’t made any cuts on the Asian Tour yet and hopefully, I can do that this week.
Ends.
Janne Kaske (Fin) – Third round 68 (-3), Total 204 (-9)
I started really well. I got off to a dream start to the round. I hit it close on the second hole and had a tap-in birdie there. I wished I had kept it going a little bit better heading into the back nine. I three-putted the 11th hole and took my first bogey of the day there.
That kind of made me lose my confidence a little bit and then I didn’t manage to birdie the par-five. But I made one of the best birdies in my life on the 16th hole. I was in the bunker. It has got a big high lip and I was behind it.
I told myself I had to hit a perfect shot from there just to get over the lip. I hit a great seven-iron from there to about 20-feet and made the birdie putt. I would have taken par any day from where I was.
I hit a bad shot on 17 to make bogey. It was a little disappointing but still at the top with a good chance so it’s alright. I am just going to try and win it tomorrow. In this kind of situation, you just got to stay aggressive and try to make birdies, rather than waiting for the other guy to make mistakes.
I like playing aggressively in this kind of situation. I felt like I was in control the whole of today. There was never really a moment where I felt nervous. I was actually surprised how calm I stayed out there today. I hit perfect shots right out of the gates so I knew it is going to be good.
I felt like I was in full control until the bogey where I three-putted. I lost a bit of confidence there but still managed to grind it out. The pins were more difficult today. It was nice playing with Lee. He’s a good player. I don’t think he’s going to give it up tomorrow. I am going to try and win it myself. He’s not going to let up.
Taehee Lee of Korea
Taehee Lee (Kor) – Third round 68 (-3), Total 204 (-9)
I didn’t make any big mistakes. That is why I was able to post a good score. I am happy to keep it going with Janne as we continue to lead. I think Janne is playing well because he is playing for the first time on this course and he has no fear.
Big tournaments like this require a lot of concentration because course settings get more difficult by the day. I was able to stay focused which helps. I wore a mask earlier because I had a runny nose but I’m better now.
The game has been feeling good so far this season. I think I have lost the fear in my game. I am hitting the ball very well too. I am really satisfied with the way I played so far. The crowd has been really amazing.
I think it’s important for me to play my own game tomorrow. So I hope to do just that and not care about anything else.
Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) – Third round 70 (-1), Total 208 (-5)
My short game helped me a lot again today. I didn’t hit it good off the tees and my iron-play was not that great. But I managed to save a few pars by sinking putts from around 18 feet. My chipping was good too.
I hit my irons over the green for a couple of times today. Had some difficult lies but my short game really saved a lot of shots for me. I missed a couple of fairways as well. The pin positions were difficult today.
I made a double-bogey on the sixth. I missed it left and hit it into the water hazard before making three putts on that hole. But I had a good comeback after that. I was just thinking about playing shot by shot and not thinking about making birdies.
On this course, you can’t really play aggressive. As long as you can save shots, you should have a chance. I’m not thinking about winning to be honest. My aim is to shoot under-par every day. If I can do that, I will have a good chance tomorrow.
Recent Comments