Peradol steals limelight
Thai shares lead with American Veerman
TAIPEI: Peradol Panyathanasedh of Thailand and Johannes Veerman of the United States shared the first round lead at fiveunder-par 67 in the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) yesterday.
The little-known Peradol returned with a flawless card while Veerman, the reigning Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit winner, traded six birdies against one bogey at the US$500,000 (Bt16.6 million) Asian Tour event.
Gaganjeet Bhullar of India, a seventime Asian Tour winner, Danny Chia of Malaysia, and American duo Jarin Todd and Dodge Kemmer were a further shot back in tied third place at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
Lu Wei-chih of Taiwan fired a holein-one on the par-three 11th hole before returning with a score of 69. He is tied in seventh place alongside Ajeetesh Sandhu of India, Fan Chiang Hao-chuan of Taiwan, Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines and Lionel Weber of France.
Thai duo Jazz Janewattananond and Sattaya Supupramai shot matching 70s to lie three off the pace at joint 12th.
The 28-year-old Peradol overcame the blustery conditions to return with a bogey free round. He is riding high on confidence after winning his second title on the local circuit last month which ended a sevenyear title drought.
“Everything went perfect. I missed some greens but somehow managed to make pars which gave me the confidence,” said Peradol.
“The iron shots were the best part of my game. I managed to find the greens on most holes. If you miss the green here, it is very difficult to chip and putt.
“The conditions were tough, almost the same like last week where I missed so many easy putts. Today, I was more focused on my game.
“I won in Thailand last month. It was my first win in seven years. I’m feeling more confident and I want to play more golf. Before this, I was upset all the time. I’ve changed my mindset after talking to my gym instructor. He has really motivated me to do well and play golf again.”
The sweet-swinging Veerman got off to a strong start in his search for a first Asian Tour title. He has good memories of Taiwan where he won his first ADT title last year enroute to winning the ADT Order of Merit.
“My ball striking was really good. I kept my ball on the fairways and was able to get it on the green for two putts. Consistency is really the key out here,” said Veerman.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
(Par-72, a denotes amateur)
67 — Peradol Panyathanasedh (THA), Johannes Veerman (USA)
68 — Dodge Kemmer (USA), Danny Chia (MAS), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND), Jarin Todd (USA)
69 — Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND), Lu Wei-chih (TWN), Fan Chiang Hao-chuan (TWN), Antonio Lascuna (PHI), Lionel Weber (FRA)
70 — a-Wang Wen-yang (TWN), Ku Po-yun (TWN), Siddikur Rahman (BAN), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Kao Shang-hung (TWN), Lee Chia-hao (TWN), Sung Mao-chang (TWN), Liu Wei-hou (TWN), Jason Norris (AUS), Sattaya Supupramai (THA)
71 — Arjun Prasad (IND), Natthapong Niyomchon (THA), Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA), Scott Barr (AUS), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Suradit Yongcharoenchai (THA), Prom Meesawat (THA), Kim Gi-Whan (KOR), Rory Hie (INA), Lin Wen-ko (TWN), Hsieh Tung-hung (TWN), Adilson Da Silva (BRA), Liu Yan-wei (CHN)