Suradit leads the way in India
New Delhi - Thai teenager Suradit Yongcharoenchai broke clear of the tight leaderboard after firing two birdies in his closing three holes for an opening six-under-par 66 at the US$400,000 Panasonic Open India on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Suradit, playing in his second attempt at the popular event, nailed seven birdies against a lone bogey to lead by one shot over Delhi expert Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh, as well as Indian duo Ajeetesh Sandhu and Tapy Ghai at the Delhi Golf Club.
Having enjoyed a tied-fifth place finish in Pakistan two weeks ago, Suradit was delighted to continue his fine form as he takes aim at a breakthrough Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open, where he finished tied-21st last year.
"I played really good today. I feel very good with my game. I hit a lot of fairways. My tee shots were very good today and that was the key to play well here. I played my irons very well too and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities," said Suradit who came in joint runner-up in his last event in India in August and finished tied-fifth in Pakistan two weeks ago.
"Tirawat (Kaewsiribandit) is my regular roommate on Tour and to see him win in Pakistan was a great motivation and inspiration for me. It makes me want to win as well. Hopefully I can ride on my good form and try for a win this week," he added.
Siddikur, a two-time Asian Tour winner but not since 2013, rediscovered some of his best form after returning with a bogey-free round highlighted by five birdies.
He holds an impressive track record at the par-72 6935 yards course where he won his second Asian Tour title in 2013, finished inside top-10 in four of his five attempts at the Panasonic Open India and has secured six top-10s in other Asian Tour events.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, highest-ranked player in 14th place on the Merit rankings, posted a 68 to trail by two while defending champion Shiv Kapur of India posted a 70 to tie in 16th position in the event, which is celebrating its eighth successive edition on the region’s premier Tour.
Reigning Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit champion Pannakorn Uthaipas recorded the second albatross of the season on the par-five first hole after his five-iron second shot found the bottom of the cup from about 220 yards.
The Panasonic Open India is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and is the second leg of the 2018/19 Panasonic Swing, which is an aggregate points race that spans five events – in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan.
