Garcia surges ahead of the field

Spaniard Sergio Garcia clung to his lead in the US$1-million Thailand Golf Championships after shooting his second straight 65 for a clear four-stroke lead at the Amata Spring Country Club here yesterday.

The world No 19 fired eight birdies against a lone bogey on the fourth hole for a total 18-under-par 198, four shots ahead of the in-form Henrik Stenson of Sweden and Indian Anirban Lahiri, who had efforts of 65 and 67 respectively.

Garcia is closing in on his first title this year. His last triumph was in the Asian Tour when he won the Iskandar Joho Open in Indonesia in December last year.

“It was great obviously to be able to go out there and shoot 65 again. I played nicely, just a couple of shots here and there but other than that felt pretty comfortable for most of the day. I was able to hit some really nice shots and then obviously was able to roll two or three really good putts in and it was nice to be able to finish birdie, birdie on this difficult finishing stretch,’’ said the former world No 2. Garcia’s girlfriend Katharina Bohem, a former golfer of Charleston University, has been his caddie this week.

“It’s great to have her around, forget about having her on the bag this week. Very positive person, a lot of good energy. That’s what I love about her. It’s great to be able to go and do this with her. The experience for me and her is very interesting. Obviously it’s one of the great memories for both of us,” added the Spaniard, who finished fourth last year.

World No 3 Stenson, who made history as the first man to win both the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup, has steadily improved his score with an error-free 65 yesterday after a 70 in the first round and 67 in the second round. 

“As soon as you’re playing good golf, that’s what we practise and where we love to be, so as soon as you get there, you’re like, okay, I can squeeze another day out of this. It’s going to be good fun tomorrow. I’ll probably play with some of my best buddies, either Justin in the second last group or Sergio in the last group or whatever, we’ll see what happens. But I’ll be out in a good pairing and hopefully have a chance to win tomorrow,” said the Swede, who has always played well on this course since he represented Europe in the Royal Trophy several years ago. 

The 26-year-old Indian, Lahiri, who won his third Asian Tour title earlier this year in the home event SAIL-SBI Open, hit six birdies against a bogey.   

“I’m very happy because I didn’t hit the ball very good but I played really sharp golf, and that’s good to see because I’ve been waiting for that to come around and I’m happy that I’m able to focus and get up and down when I miss it, and make some putts. So, yeah, really happy,” said the Indian, who was a stroke ahead of overnight co-leader Justin Rose who hit a 70 for 203. Alexander Levy of France was alone at fifth with 205. 

Panupol Pittayarat posted the best Thai challenge among the elites yesterday after he carded six birdies against a lone bogey for a 67 and a total 10-under-par 206 to share sixth place with South Korean Kim Gi-whan and Japanese Yuki Kono.

“This so far has been my best day in the tournament. It is also the first time I made the cut here. I was not thinking much about the gap between me and the leaders. I will just go out there and play my game tomorrow,” said the 20-year-old Panupol, hoping to have his fourth top-10 finish this season.

A shot behind were fan favourites Rickie Fowler and another Thai, Chinnarat Phadungsil, who was hot on his heels most of the day with a hole in one on the 194-yard hole five before ending with a bogey and a 64 for a total 208.

“I was putting very well and was five-under after five holes. I was a bit stunned by the hole in one as I teed off with iron No 5 and winds somehow helped me in that shot. But the winds also gave me a bad time on the 18th where I bogeyed. Hopefully, tomorrow I can putt like this and keep the ball on the fairways as much as possible,” said Chinnarat, in search of his first title after winning the Queen’s Cup in Samui four years ago.

The local trio of Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Arnond Vongvanij and Chapchai Nirat along with defending champion Charl Schwartzel, Indian duo Gaganjeet Bhullar and Sujjan Singh were at joint 12th with a total 208.