The Dragon gets off to a fiery start in Shah Alam
PETALING JAYA: Atiruj Winaicharoenchai of Thailand is living up to his nickname – The Dragon – as he made a fiery start at the 116th Malaysian Amateur Open.
The 17-year-old, the Saujana Amateur Championship winner last year, fired a flawless four-under 68 at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Golf Club in Shah Alam to share the opening round lead with India’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul yesterday.
Kshitij matched Atiruj by mixing five birdies against a bogey.
The duo are just one stroke clear of Sadom Kaewkanjana, who kick started his title defence with a decent 69 after trading four birdies with a bogey.
Victor Ng Yu Kai opened with a solid 70 to boost hopes of a first Malaysian winner in six years.
The best local performer of the day is tied for fourth place with Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng of Thailand and Singapore’s Low Wee Jin.
“It was quite a tough round today as the greens were fast,” said the 16-year-old Victor.
“I got off to an unpleasant start by missing a few three to five-footer putts, but recovered in the later part of my game, which I was very satisfied to shoot a 33 in such a challenging back nine for a 70 on such a tough course.
“With this start, I hope to keep playing solid to try finish as strong as possible.
“I haven’t finished better than a 58th place since I was 12!
“My goal is a top 16 so that I can pick up some world ranking points, so I’m working towards that target,” he added.
Witchayanon is hoping to be third time lucky after settling for runner-up in the last two editions, losing through playoffs on both occasions.
Singapore’s Joshua Ho, who is bidding for back-to-back win after capturing the Saujana Amateur Championship last week, could only manage a three-over 75 to be joint 37th.