Thailand’s Poosit Supupramai set the early pace at the OB Golf Invitational on Tuesday, June 7, with a flawless round of seven under par to finish the opening day tied for the lead on 65 with India’s Udayan Mane.

Supupramai, after teeing off in one of the first groups, posted a bogey-free round with four birdies on the front nine and three on the back, closely followed by Singapore’s Abdul Hadi playing in the same group. India’s Udayan Mane also started very strongly, with a powerful six-under 30 on the front nine, and would have grabbed a late solo lead if not for an unfortunate bogey on the 17th.

Hadi, with two starts on the Asian Tour already this year, had a more mercurial front nine with six birdies and one bogey, but was unable to maintain momentum and slipped back to third place with a six-under 66. Thailand’s Sarun Srithon was one of the later finishers who completed their round before play was stopped for a second time due to rain. He carded a 66 to join the group in third spot, together with Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin.

Inclement weather stopped play temporarily at 2.05pm, with golfers returning to the course at 3.15pm after a short delay. The US$70,000 event, played on the Damai Indah Golf’s BSD course on the outskirts of Jakarta, finishes on June 10th. Play was stopped a second time at 5.28pm and will resume on Wednesday at 6.30am.

Danny Chia of Malaysia started the day in steady fashion. Teeing off on Hole 10, he maintained par through the first nine holes, then began to gather pace for a strong finish, birdieing six of his last nine holes to score a five-under 67 and secure sixth place, later tied with Peradol Panyathansedh of Thailand. Chia’s compatriots Paul San and Khor Kheng Hwai finished four shots back in a tie for 18th with Van Thomas of the USA with a one under score of 71.

Thailand’s Jaturon Duangphaichoom, looking to get his season underway after a stuttering start, began strongly on the back nine, gathering momentum towards the turn and scoring a precious eagle on the par five ninth hole. A birdie on the very next hole showed promise but he was unable to make the most of his burst of form, dropping two shots before a last hole birdie rescued a score of three under and a share of eighth place. The elder Supupramai brother, Sattaya, also finished the day in the group at three under par, together with Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines, Australia’s Jack Murdoch, Suttijet Kooratanapisan of Thailand and USA’s Jeremy Wendelken.

Leading Indonesian amateur Amadeus Christian Susanto, fresh from a second place finish in the 31st Southeast Asian Games individual event, started sluggishly from the 10th tee with two bogeys in three holes, but was able to gather himself by the time he reached the turn and carded three birdies in his last 10 holes to finish in 15th place on even par.