Sukree shares first-round lead with three others

KUALA LUMPUR: National golfer Sukree Othman carded an opening four-under 68 to share the lead with France’s Erwan Vieilledent, Finland’s Janne Kaske and Thailand’s Tawit Polthai at the PGM Northport Championship.

The 41-year-old Sukree enjoyed a bogey-free round, with birdies on eighth, 10, 11 and 16th holes and has a one-shot lead over the rest of the field at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

Seven players, including Asian Development Tour (ADT) champions Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij of Thailand, Martin Dive of Australia and Mathiam Keyser of South Africa shared fifth place.

Sukree attributed his good round to his accurate drives and calmness under pressure.

“I managed to keep my ball on the fairway most of the time today.

“The greens were quite firm, so you’ll need some spin for the ball to stay on them.

“It’s a lot more difficult if you approach from the rough,” said Sukree.

Vieilledent had a round of two halves, carding two eagles on his opening nine holes but made the turn even-par.

The Frenchman then closed the round solidly, as he made four birdies and did not drop a shot.

The PGM Northport Championship is the 10th leg on the ADT’s 2018 schedule and the leading seven players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2019 season.