Nicholas Fung in contention for the summit at the first round of Thailand Open on OneAsia Tour
Malaysian Nicholas Fung has now grabbed an outright lead so far in the first round of the Thailand Open on OneAsia Tour with a blistering five-under, 67 and is now two shots behind the early leader Australian Ryan Haller. The 21-year-old is a graduate from
Asean PGA Tour and is playing for the second consecutive event on the fast growing OneAsia Tour.
“Regular competition on One Asia is really helping my game,” said Fung, “I have improved a lot since starting to play the circuit.”
Playing at the scenic Suwan Golf and Country Club, Fung pulled in six birdies on the back nine, posting a 30 before making the turn.
“I struggled on the greens on the front nine but everything came good after the turn,” he said. “I sank a couple of bombs for birdies. I holed 30 footer on the third hole and a 25 footer on the eighth.”
The 31-year-old Filipino, Jay Bayron is also in contention with Fung carding another stellar round of 67. The $1-million event kicked off today on a fine sunny morning and has the biggest prize money in Thailand with a winner’s share of US$180,000.
Some of the notable players from across the world are part of the field including Former US Open champion Michael Campbell, US PGA Tour winners Shigeki Maruyama, Andre Stolz, and Craig Parry, and three-time Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee, among several
others from the European Tour.
Veteran Thaworn Wiratchant is one of the local favourites on the course after his victory at the Indonesia Open on the OneAsia Tour a few weeks back in Jakarta. The 44-year-old is hoping to win the title at least once before the young golfers would take
his place.
“It’s the dream of all Thai professionals to win the Thailand Open,” said Thaworn, 44. “For me, it would mean everything to take the title.”
Australian Stolz, who is one of the golfers who is in top form after winning the season opener, the Indonesia PGA Championship, is currently ranked second on the tour money list and is one of the strong contenders of the cup this week.
The event will be broadcasted directly through the ESPN-Star sports network around the world alongside the local coverage by no less than 11 channels.
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