Chapchai Nirat takes clubhouse lead at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open on day one
Chapchai Nirat fired an eight-under par 64, in the opening round of the Asian Tour’s curtain raiser Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Alpine, to take the clubhouse lead, on Thursday, February 21, 2013.
The US$300,000 event is being staged at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club in Yangon, featuring some of the best Asian Tour players from different parts of the world.
The Thai started his campaign with pars on each of the first five holes that he played. It was considerably a slow start, considering the fact that it was really easy to create birdie chances on the first few holes.
However, Nirat was unlucky to record a single birdie on them. Yet, he did not lose control over his nerves and made a strong comeback by adding eight shots to his scorecard on the last 13 holes that he played.
At the end of his round, he found himself taking a one-stroke clubhouse lead over countryman Prom Meesawat and Finland’s Joonas Granberg.
Nirat, who finished ninth in the Asian Tour Order of Merit last year, was happy with his performance in the opening round.
“My putting was very good. Last year I struggled with my putter. Usually when you start the first tournament, you feel a bit uneasy but it was different today. Putting is very important for me. If I can putt well, I will feel confident,” said Chapchai, who
welcomed his new born son ‘Jedi’ to his family last year.
“The fairways and greens are quite big but the greens are undulating so your iron shots need to be accurate. Yeah, I played well during the end of last season and I’m glad to carry on from where I left off,” added the 29-year-old.
Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand, who is highly rated for a victory this week, shared the fourth spot on the leaderboard with Hwang In-choon and Young Nam, after carding a six-under par 66.
The reigning, oldest and two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, Thaworn Wiratchant, who had the privilege to hit the opening shot of the tournament, settled for a 71 in the first round.
Tags: