Injured but in-form Chang Wei-lun carded a five-under-par 67 for the clubhouse lead in the US$2 million International Series Singapore today, at Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC).

Japan’s Tomoharu Otsuki, Koreans Bio Kim and Taehee Lee, New Zealander Ben Campbell, and Thailand’s Suradit Yongcharoenchai, Suteepat Prateeptienchai and Atiruj Winaicharoenchai returned 68s, after the morning session was completed.

Chang got the better of TMCC’s challenging Tampines Course and overcame the heat and humidity with a strong display that saw him nail six birdies, including on his last two holes, and drop just one shot – in an event that is part of The International Series.

SINGAPORE: Chang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei pictured during Round One of the International Series Singapore at the Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) on Thursday October 5, 2023. The US$2 million Asian Tour event is staged from October 5-8, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

The Chinese-Taipei golfer tied for fifth in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last week for one of his best finishes on the Asian Tour, despite an injured limb.

“I injured my right ankle last week,” said Chang, a winner on the Asian Development Tour in 2019, at the Charming Yeangder event.

“I am not limping, but I felt uncomfortable through the round today. I hurt my ankle during the third-round last week, and I just played through it on the final day.

“Didn’t think much of it and I played well to get a top-five finish on Sunday. That gave me a lot of confidence coming to this week. I brought the injury into this week but it’s my third time playing here now so I am familiar with the course. Just play shot by shot. My ankle’s injured and I can’t do much about it. So just play the best I can.”

He began on hole 10 and turned in two under thanks to back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16.

He added: “Those back-to-back birdies there got me going. The course is in great condition, as always. There is nothing I can nitpick about the course.”

He dropped a shot on the second, but rallied with gains on three, five, before his impressive finish.

Tomoharu Otsuki of Japan pictured during Round One of the International Series Singapore at the Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) on Thursday October 5, 2023. The US$2 million Asian Tour event is staged from October 5-8, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Otsuki, who won the Panasonic Open Golf Championship on the Japan Golf Tour two weeks ago, said: “Hit it close to the pin on the second nine, and I was able to make some birdies, so I got off to a good start. The putter was working well.

“The greens are very undulating, making it difficult if your approach is on the wrong side of the hole. There was no wind today, but this course will become difficult when the wind blows, so we’ll see how it goes for the weekend.”