Natthaphat steals a march on pros
Phachara impresses at Thailand Open
CHACHOENGSAO: Young Thai amateur Natthaphat Harnchokchaiskul stole the show by opening his campaign with a solid seven-under-par 64 to grab a oneshot lead at the US$300,000 Thailand Open yesterday.
The 19-year-old Natthaphat, one of the 10 amateurs in the field this week, received a late entry into the event on Sunday night but found himself at the top of the leaderboard after firing eight birdies against a bogey at the par-71 Thai Country Club.
Starting from the first, Natthaphat reeled in four straight pars before nailing seven birdies on his next 11 holes. He stumbled with a bogey on 16 but bounced back swiftly with another birdie on 17 before closing with a par to take the lead for the first time in a professional tournament.
“I played better than I expected,” said Natthaphat, who is taking part in his first Asian Tour event this week.
“I thought it would be great if I can shoot under-par today. I really didn’t expect myself to play so well.”
“I hit my approach shots very well today and my putting was good too. My driver wasn’t too bad as well. I managed to hit a lot of fairways,” added Natthaphat.
Phachara Khongwatmai impressed in his first attempt at tackling the course as he returned with a bogey-free round highlighted by six birdies to take second place at his national Open, which is cosanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Thailand Golf Association.
“I thought the conditions were pretty difficult out there. The wind was quite strong and the direction changed often, but I had an easy game today because I hit my driver well,” said Phachara, who is chasing a breakthrough win on the Asian Tour this week.
“This is my first time playing here at the Thai Country Club so to shoot a 65, I’m really happy,” he added.
Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate Aadil Bedi of India also kept the blemishes off his card to card a commendable 66 in his debut appearance at the Thailand Open. The 18-year-old shares third place with Thaya Limpipolpaibul of Thailand and Lee Soo-Min of South Korea.
Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat and American John Catlin, who hold a combined total of eight Asian Tour titles, were among those bunched in sixth place following matching rounds of 67s in the full-field event.
Defending champion Panuphol Pittayarat had a round to forget after registering a 74 to sit in tied-110th place in the event, which returned to the Thai Country Club for its third straight edition on the Asian Tour this week.