FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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 Thai phenom Phachara co-leads at Maybank Championship

 Thai phenom Phachara co-leads at Maybank Championship

Kuala Lumpur - Thai teenager Phachara Khongwatmai charged into contention at the halfway stage of the US$3 million Maybank Championship after shooting a sparkling seven-under-par 65 on Friday.

The 18-year-old, whose name Phachara means ‘diamond’ in Thai, marked his card with seven birdies as he shared the lead with Italy’s Nino Bertasio (65) on 11-under-par 133 on a low scoring day at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.

A red-hot Lee Westwood of England fired 11 birdies against one bogey for a stunning 62 to lie a shot back in third place alongside Japanese star Yuta Ikeda (64), Marc Warren (66) and overnight leader Chris Paisley (69) at the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

“ I’m very happy with my score. My plan is to shoot under-par every day and play against the course. I don’t want to think ahead or compare my score to another player. It is only two rounds so the tournament is not over yet. I want to focus day by day and hole by hole,” said the teenager in his first time as a co-leader in an event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

 Phachara was part of Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup three weeks ago. He contributed two points and only lost in the Singles match against Bernd Wiesberger.  

“I learnt a lot at the EurAsia Cup. My partner Hideto Tanihara taught me a lot and he calmed me down because I was very nervous.,” added the Thai,  searching for a first victory on the Asian Tour and European Tour. He holds the record as the youngest amateur player at the age of 14 to win a professional tournament. He is also the youngest player at 15 to win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
The sweet-swinging Phachara posted two birdies in his outward nine and enjoyed a superb run when he made five straight birdies from the 11th hole thanks to a hot putter. He was joined by Bertasio, who was in the last group of the day, at the top of the leaderboard when the Italian returned with eight birdies against one blemish.

 Westwood continued his affinity with Asia where he has won nine times including the Malaysian Open in 1997 at Saujana. He is in position again to win at the course where he was a former touring professional from 1996 to 1999. 

 Ikeda, the world number 43, fired eight birdies to stay in the hunt to secure a first victory outside of Japan where he has won 19 times.

 The halfway cut was set at four-under-par 140 with a total of 81 players making the weekend rounds. 

Scores after round 2 of the Maybank Championship being played at the par 72, 7135 Yards Saujana GCC course (am - denotes amateur):

133 - Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 68-65, Nino BERTASIO (ITA) 68-65.

134 - Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 72-62, Yuta IKEDA (JPN) 70-64, Marc WARREN (SCO) 68-66, Chris PAISLEY (ENG) 65-69.

135 - Stephen GALLACHER (SCO) 70-65, Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 68-67, Hideto TANIHARA (JPN) 71-64, Dylan FRITTELLI (RSA) 69-66, David LIPSKY (USA) 67-68, Maximilian KIEFFER (GER) 69-66, Jorge CAMPILLO (ESP) 69-66.

136 - Andrew DODT (AUS) 71-65, David HORSEY (ENG) 66-70, Ryan FOX (NZL) 68-68, Danthai BOONMA (THA) 70-66, Robert KARLSSON (SWE) 68-68, Thomas DETRY (BEL) 68-68, Thomas BJORN (DEN) 68-68, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 69-67, Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 71-65, Soren KJELDSEN (DEN) 69-67, Soomin LEE (KOR) 67-69.

137 - Alexander LEVY (FRA) 67-70, Gavin GREEN (MAS) 68-69, Fabrizio ZANOTTI (PAR) 68-69, Mike LORENZO-VERA (FRA) 66-71, Andy SULLIVAN (ENG) 71-66, Khalin JOSHI (IND) 67-70, Scott JAMIESON (SCO) 68-69, CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 68-69, Matthieu PAVON (FRA) 70-67, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 70-67, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 69-68, Berry HENSON (USA) 69-68.

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