October 23: In-form Sarit Suwannarut set the pace on the opening day of the US$2million International Series Philippines with an eight-under par 64 round that opened a narrow one-shot lead for the Thai star.

Sarit made one bogey while playing early in the day, but made up for that lapse with nine birdies to edge another in-form player, Japan’s Kazuki Higa, a two-time champion already this season.

Conditions were ripe for scoring at Sta. Elena Golf Club, especially in the morning, and players made the most of it. England’s LIV Golf star Richard Bland made a bogey on the ninth hole – his last – and was tied third at 66 alongside Americans Charles Porter and George Kneiser, plus Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat.

LIV Golf star and former world No1 Dustin Johnson, making his first appearance in the Philippines, did not disappoint his fans. The American shot a 67, which included an unfortunate double bogey on the 15th hole and two other bogeys.

Kazuki Higa of Japan. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Johnson is tied seventh, alongside India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, Americans Austen Truslow and MJ Maguire, South Africa’s Dean Burmester, China’s Guxin Chen and Germany’s Maximilian Rottluff.

Sarit – fourth in SJM Macao Open, tied 11th in the Jakarta International Championship and tied ninth in Mercuries Taiwan Masters in his previous three starts on the Asian Tour – started on the back nine and made four birdies on his way out, and added five more on his back nine.

“It was perfect. I’ve been playing pretty good. I mean, before a round, I know I can share the ball number with my caddie and hit the shots. I tell myself, you can hit it, you can do it,” said Sarit.

“It’s not as long as some other golf courses, but the rough is pretty thick. If you miss your position, it is really hard to get it out. You have to be hitting well and putting it in a good position to make a good number.”

Speaking on his recent run of form, Sarit added: “I’d say a couple of things have happened for me. I put in a new putter in Korea and it has started working well for me. I also changed my coach. I have been working on my swing, and the changes are becoming pretty good.”

A two-time winner of International Series titles, Sarit knows a thing or two about winning on the big stage.

“I just want to play good golf. I am excited to play with a lot of good players like Dustin, Patrick Reed, and a lot of the guys from LIV Golf. So, just excited to play well,” said Sarit, who is currently ranked 25th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 52nd in The International Series Ranking.

Dustin Johnson of the USA. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Higa, winner of back-to-back events on the Asian Tour this year – Shinhan Donghae Open and the Yeangder TPC – was one of seven players to play a bogey-free round and said the key was to hit fairways with tee shots, which helped him take advantage of the preferred lies in play.

“A round of seven-under was a little better than what we planned to achieve when I set out in the morning. If I look back at the round, I think we could have made two or three more putts,” said the unassuming Japanese star.

“Today, I played with Kevin Na and Sam Horsfield and it was a good pairing. However, I know that to step up to the challenge of players like Dustin and Patrick Reed, I need to continue making good scores. Need to just keep going.”

Johnson said he enjoyed his first professional round in the Philippines.

“It was a good atmosphere and Miguel (Tabuena) is a really nice player and it was a lot of fun to play with him and Louis (Oosthuizen) today. We all played pretty well, it was a good atmosphere, and we made a lot of birdies,” said Johnson.

“I played well. If any day, any time you make nine birdies, you know you hit a lot of really good shots. I had a lot of good looks at birdie and hit just one bad drive on the 15th and ended up making a double. Obviously, still in a good position going into tomorrow and the rest of the week.”

The International Series Philippines is the sixth leg of the elevated International Series events on the Asian Tour.