Thammanoon 4 ahead after birdie blitz
BENGALURU: Thai veteran Thammanoon Sriroj rolled back the years after signing for a spectacular nine-under-par 62 to lead by four shots following the opening round of the TAKE Solutions Masters yesterday.
The 49-year-old Thammanoon, a fivetime Asian Tour winner but not since 2004, was off to a solid start with five straight birdies from the 10th hole before adding another birdie on 18 to turn in 31.
He nailed three more birdies on the first, third and sixth holes but dropped his only shot of the day on the seventh hole. The experienced Thai, however, bounced back swiftly with a birdie on the par-three eighth after hitting his tee shot to within a foot.
“My tee shots were good today but my putting was even better. I made a lot of long putts today,” said Thammanoon.
“I made my only bogey of the day on the seventh after hitting into the trees but bounced back with a good birdie on the eighth where I hit it to about a foot. I thought I hit it really close but my playing partner Mukesh Kumar hit it even closer.
“I have played here a few times. I knew it’s a narrow course and the rough will be tough which doesn’t suit my game. I was thinking much before I started the round. I thought I might missed the cut again but the confidence grew as I head into the round today and I played better and better from there.”
Young Thai duo Danthai Boonma and Suradit Yongcharoenchai shared second place with Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, Argentinean Miguel Carballo and local prospect Feroz Singh Garewal after they cardedmatching rounds of 66s at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) Golf Course.
India’s rising star Khalin Joshi was amongst those bunched in seventh place after he carded a 67 on his home course. Defending champion Poom Saksansin of Thailand battled to a 71 to tie in 64th position at the US$350,000 Asian Tour event.
HACKERS HIT PGA SERVERS
Computer hackers have struck PGA of America servers at this week’s 100th PGA Championship, demanding a Bitcoin ransom to unlock files without risking data not easily replaced, Golfweek’s website reported.
The files, Golfweek said, contained digital promotional banners and logos used on signs around Bellerive as well as materials for next month’s Ryder Cup in France.
The PGA of America does not intend to meet extortion demands, unnamed sources told the magazine, and the organisation has retained outside information technology experts to ensure the year’s final major tournament remains unaffected, according to the report.
The PGA had no comment on the matter. PGA play began yesterday at Bellerive Country Club. The Ryder Cup is set for Sept 28-30 at Le Golf National in Paris.
Tournament staff discovered on Tuesday their files had been compromised when a message told them their network had been hacked and information files encrypted, with any attempt to unlock the files risking their permanent loss, according to Golfweek.
A Bitcoin wallet number was provided, but no specific ransom amount was requested.
The stolen files, according to the report, also include development work on logos and signs for future PGA Championships, much of it not easily replaced.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Par-71, a denotes amateur)
62 — Thammanoon Sriroj (THA
66 — Feroz Singh Garewell (IND), Danthai Boonma (THA), Suradit Yongcharoenchai (THA), Scott Vincent (ZIM), Miguel Carballo (ARG) 67 — Khalin Joshi (IND), Arnond Vongvanich (THA), Om Prakash Chouhan (IND), Maverick Antcliff (AUS), Jake McLeod (AUS), Settee Prakongvech (THA), Anura Rohana (SRI)
68 — Kapil Kumar (IND), Matthew Killen (ENG), Marcus Both (AUS), Pawin Ingkhapradit (THA), Koh Deng Shan (SGP), M Dharma (IND), Sudhir Sharma (IND), Samuel Chien (USA), a-Aadil Debi (IND), Jaibir Singh (IND)
69 — Kushal Singh (IND), Ashok Kumar (IND), SSP Chawrasia (IND), Miguel Tabuena (PHI), Mithun Perera (SRI), Karandeep Kochhar (IND), Dodge Kemmer (USA), Jason Knutzon (USA), Himmat Rai (IND), Javier Gallesgos (ESP), Sujjan Singh (IND), Casey O’Toole (USA), Danny Chia (MAS), Pannakorn Uthaipas (THA), Shohei Hasegawa (JPN), Chikkarangappa S (IND), Angad Cheema (IND), Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol (THA), Nirun Sae-ueng (THA), Aman Raj (IND), veer Ahlawat (IND), a-Harimohan Singh (IND), Pasavee Lertvilai (THA)