Lien Chi-Wei takes clubhouse lead at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on day one
Lien Chi-Wei of Chinese Taipei fired a six-under par 66 in the opening round of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, to take a four-stroke clubhouse lead, on Thursday, September 27, 2012.
It was a stunning performance, considering the fact that the Asian Tour event is being played at the Taiwan Golf & Country Club – one of the toughest golf courses in the region.
There were a total of twelve players in the field who managed to break the par mark early in the morning and all of them belonged to Chinese Taipei.
The Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Hsieh Chi-Hsien recorded a two-under par 70 to take the second spot on the leaderboard.
According to the golf commentators, it was an astonishing display of the game shown by Chi-Wei. He was good with his driver and great with his putter.
Throughout the opening round, he kept on rolling the ball well on the greens and used only 26 putts to complete his 18 holes. The highlight of his performance includes a 20-foot putt for an eagle on the par-five sixth hole.
He is currently playing the tournament for the fifth time in his career and it was the best score of his career on the venue course.
He now expects the course to get tougher with the passage of time. Therefore, he will have to maintain his consistency if he wants to retain the lead till the end of the tournament.
“My iron play was really good and I sank my putts. It was a really good day for me. I’ve been playing in this event for five years and this is my best score on this golf course,” said the soft spoken 37-year-old.
“This is a very difficult golf course and I’m really happy with my performance but I know it will only get tougher from here,” said Lien.
Gaganjeet Bhullar of India, who aims to record the fourth Asian Tour victory of his career this week, got off to a poor start and recorded a three-over par 75. He tied for the 53rd position on the leaderboard.
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