An albatross on the tricky par-five ninth hole saw Korea’s Woohyun Kim soar into the lead of the Singha Pattaya Open today, although a dropped shot on the back nine opened the door for Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto to join him at the top.

Kim, who began the day in a share of fifth place, started strongly with three birdies in the first four holes. An albatross on nine, with a birdie shortly after, accelerated his charge to the top.

“It was a good start. I birdied the first hole which put me in a good mood for the day,” he said after his round.

“On the ninth tee, I hit a good drive and thought I would be able to reach it in two because it was quite a short hole. I hit my rescue but I couldn’t see where it landed.”

“When I got to the green I could see a ball on the green but I wasn’t sure if it was my ball, I certainly didnt think mine was in the hole,” he said after revealing that this was his first ever albatross.

“Tomorrow I’m just going to take it shot by shot, I need to stay calm and focus on my game, not on whether I am going to win or not.”

Kosuke Hamamoto of Thailand pictured in action at the Singha Pattaya Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Kosuke, leader after the first round and fresh off a victory in the ADT All Thailand Partnership Trophy last week, showed intent with seven birdies during his round, but three dropped shots slowed his advance.

“The round was OK, but I scored better than I played today, I didn’t really leave any shots out there and the putter was working for me,” said Kosuke after his round. “The bogeys were just some little mental mistakes here and there but I’m happy with the way I bounced back after all the dropped shots today.

“I’m pretty confident that what me and my team have been working on is the right path and we just have to keep doing what we are doing. Tomorrow is another round, whehether I win or not life goes on and I just have to keep focusing on what I’m doing.”

The third round of the THB4 million event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour and the All Thailand Golf Tour, enjoyed uninterrupted play at the Laem Chabang International Country Club and will concluded tomorrow.

Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong pictured in action at the Singha Pattaya Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Matthew Cheung (65) of Hong Kong posted a bogey-free round of five-under-par to sit in solo third after briefly sharing the lead on the back nine.

Sangchai Kaewcharoen (66) also made it through 18 holes without dropping a shot. An eagle on the par 5 second hole and a couple of birdies lifted him into a share of fourth place on -13, together with fellow Thai Charng-Tai Sudsom and international entrants Heungchol Joo of Korea (68), Malaysia’s Paul San (65) and Wei-hsuan Wang (65) of Chinese Taipei.

Poom Saksansin, who held the overnight lead, started steadily but dropped a couple of shots before an eagle on the par 5 ninth hole got him back on track. A birdie and bogey on the back nine saw him finish the day on even par.

Aside from leader Kim, the day’s low score of 64 was shared by a number of players including Chayodom Chanjaruphong and Nitithorn Thippong who moved up the leaderboard into an all-Thai group at ninth, accompanied by Poom, Pattaraphol Khanthacha, Pawin Ingkhapradit and Natipong Srithong.

In 15th place were Thailand’s Thitipat Lem, Prom Meesewat, Nopparat Panicphol, Phanuvich Onchu, Danthai Boonma and Phachara Khongwatmai.

Rounding out the top 25 were Thailand’s Krittin Sunthornnon, Supravee Phatam and Tirawat Kaewsiribandit and India’s Chikkarangappa S.

Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines also scored a low-score 64 despite a bogey on the sixth hole. His efforts lifted him into a share of 25th place alongside China’s Wocheng Ye and Vanchai Luangnitikul and Chanat Sakulpolphaisan of Thailand.

Main picture: Woohyun Kim of Korea pictured in action at the Singha Pattaya Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.