Consistent Cheung keeps his eye on the prize
Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung posted a clean round of 67 at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Tangerang today, cementing his grip on the lead despite a challenge from Thailand’s Vanchai Luangnitikul whose round of 65 earned him a share of first place.
At 11 under par, they sit one shot ahead of joint overnight leader Ekpharit Wu (68) who is looking to extend his two game winning streak with a victory this week on the Damai Indah Golf BSD course, just outside the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
As the US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event heads into its third day, a group on eight under par will also be looking to overtake the leaders from fourth place, including the Thai duo of Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (69) and Kosuke Hamamoto (70), Singapore’s James Leow (69) and Australia’s Peter Wilson (67) .
“I played really good today,” said Cheung after his round. “I shot five under with three birdies and an eagle so kept the card clean, which is always good.”
Starting from the 10th tee, he played a steady opening nine but the eagle on the par five ninth hole pushed his performance up a gear, but it was not without its surprises.
“I was in the bunker of the left side,” he explained. “I hit a drive that almost went like 330 yards, so i was very surprised, and then had 66 metres to the flag. I had a good lie and hit a really good seven iron and it landed perfectly.
“At first i thought it went in because it went up the slope and then rolled back down so I couldn’t see it from there but I’d hit it to like four feet and made the putt,” he added.
The leading group tomorrow will comprise Cheung, Vanchai and Ekpharit, and Cheung was adamant that he would have some work to do to hold on to his lead.
“I know Ekpharit’s been playing really good golf,” he said. “He won the last two All Thailand events so I just need to play my game and hopefully come out on top.”
Vanchai Luangnitikul of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.
Vanchai, who also eagled the ninth hole, had an excellent round, marred only by a single bogey on the 11th hole. The back nine also saw him score four birdies, and revealed that a mishit tee shot actually helped him bag the eagle.
“To be honest, it was quite lucky,” he said, “because I mishit my three wood on the tee shot but that gave me a perfect yardage for my rescue so I was able to hit it really close and then holed the putt.”
“The course is really firm, more so than last year,” he added. “Last year was a bit softer but this year the greens are a lot firmer and also faster so it’s really importabnt this week to keep it in the fairway.”
Australia’s Peter Wilson, who is looking to play more golf on the ADT this year, explained after his round how a four week break has brought new life into his game.
“I haven’t been working (on my game) at all,” he said after his round. “My son got into the Olympics for skateboarding so i went home, left my clubs in Thailand, and spent a month with him getting ready for the Olympics.
“I needed the break too, as I haven’t been playing very well at all. My mum passed away last year so I haven’t really played that well since then. I’ve been trying to play too much to not think about it, if that makes sense, but when I had the four week break from golf I just reflected on the good times and I’ve come back wanting to play again,” he explained.
Ekpharit Wu of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.
“I’m just going to play the ADTs for this year, getting into a few and playing when I can. I play the Thai PGA as well, and some of the All Thailand Tour pre-qualifiers. I’ve based myself here in Thailand this year just to play the ADT.
“I found last year I tried to play the ADT but because I was going from Australian conditions to Asian conditions I found it too hard to adjust. But now, with playing predominantly here, I’m starting to be able to adjust to the grasses and the grain on the greens and I’m figuring it out a bit better.
“This is a great course,” he added. “The greens are fast, which is great. Normally the courses in Thailand I’ve been playing are eight or nine on the stimp, but now this is nearly up to 11 which is pretty much like Melbourne speed, which is nice. And there’s not a lot of grain on these ones, so it’s alright.”
In eighth spot, Thailand’s Kammalas Namuangruk (64) posted the low round of the day to make up for a poor showing yesterday. he heads a group on seven under which includes compatriot Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij (67), Liu Yung-hua (68) of Chinese Taipei, leading Indonesian player Jonathan Wijono (69) and Joel Statler (69) of France.
In 13th place on six under, Minhyeok Yang (71) of Korea is tied with Malaysia’s Danny Chia (71). One shot back in 15th are the Indian pair of Khalin Joshi (71) and Rahil Gangjee (70), Huang Chi (68) of Chinese Taipei and Indonesian amateur Jonathan Hartono (69).
The field was able to complete their rounds and the cut was called at one under par, which means 57 players will tee it up for the third round in the morning. The first groups are off the tee at 6.41 am local time, with the leaders heading out at 8.20 am.
Main picture: Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.
Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu and Matthew Cheung of Hong Kong made the most of their early rounds at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Indonesia today, posting six-under-par scores of 66 to take the early clubhouse lead.
They were later joined by Kosuke Hamamoto of Thailand who was one of the lunchtime starters in the first round of the US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event at Damai Indah Golf’s BSD course.
Ekpharit, coming into the tournament after back to back wins on the All Thailand Golf Tour, made a steady start from the 10th tee, posting two birdies before dropping a shot on the 16th hole.
He regained his composure swiftly on the par five 18th, threading a four iron 195 yards into the wind and between two greenside bunkers to post an eagle and get back on track.
With three additional birdies in his second nine, Ekpharit was clearly in form following his victories at the Singha All Thailand Memorial on August 11 and the Singha Pattaya Open last week.
“It was a very good day for me today to start with six under,” he said after his round, adding that the two wins had helped his confidence coming into this event.
“They helped me a lot,” he said, “one because it was my first All Thailand Tour win, and then with back to back wins which gave me a lot of confidence to play on the ADT,” he added.
“Today I putted very well, but for my tee shots i have a lot of work to do, tomorrow I will work on that,” he said.
Kosuke Hamamoto of Thailand pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.
Cheung was another of the morning starters who stood up to the test of the Tangerang course near Jakarta. A total of seven birdies, with just a single dropped shot on 17, saw him grab a share of the clubhouse lead after the morning session
“I thought I played really good today, especially the front nine,” he said after his round. “I gave myself a lot of opportunities and was able to make some putts.
“On the back nine the irons werent quite there but I missed in the right spots, which is what you have to do on this golf course. I made a lot of pars and a couple of birdies coming in,” he added.
“The course is really good, super fair,” he said. “The greens are quite firm this week so you really need to be careful with your iron shots, pick the right spots and miss them in the right spots or you can make bogeys really easy,” he added. “I thought i did that really well today so it was a good score.”
Kosuke, who finished second to Ekpharit in Pattaya last week, was equally ready to take on the BSD course.
“It felt really good to finish with an eagle for a really solid round,” he said after posting his score. “I’m just very happy with how I handled myself out there today.”
After three opening pars, he posted a string of birdies before a double bogey on the par three seventh hole threatened to derail his round.
Danny Chia of Malaysia pictured in action at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament. The US$140,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held from August 21-24 at the Damai Indah Golf BSD course in Tangerang, Indonesia. Picture courtesy of Damai Indah Golf.
Undeterred, he bounced straight back with a birdie on the eighth, and notched a couple more on the back nine before finishing with an eagle on 18 to match the 66 of the early leaders.
For his eagle on the last, his second shot may have missed the green but things turned out in his favour.
“For the second shot I had 181 in,” he explained, “but I just leaked out my iron to the right a bit. It was pin high but it was off the green.
“Luckily Rahil (Gangee) chipped before me. He was just two yards away and I saw his chip so it gave me a good idea of what the pace was. I thought I’d hit it a bit too hard but it hit the pin and went in,” he chuckled.
In fourth place, with 67 and five under par, Chanat Sakulpolphaisan of Thailand was joined by Singapore’s James Leow, Danny Chia of Malaysia and Korea’s Minhyeok Yang.
Thailand’s Paunuphol Pittayarat posted a bogey free round to head a group in eighth place on four under par, alongside compatriots Tanapat Pichaikool, Sarujn Sirithon and Vanchai Luangnitikul.
They were joined by India’s Khalin Joshi and defending champion Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, leading Indonesian player Jonathan Wijono, Deyen Lawson of Australia, Malaysia’s Ervin Chang, Ben Jones of England and Joel Stalter of France.
All 150 players were able to finish the first round of the 72 hole tournament which concludes on Saturday, August 24. Round Two will start at 6.20am on Tursday for the morning session, with the afternoon flights teeing it up from 11am.
India’s Rahil Gangee once again showed his prowess around Kelab Golf Seri Selangor course, posting a second round of 66 to take a two shot lead into the final rounds at the PKNS Selangor Masters.
The Indian veteran has recently returned from injury and is showing a determined return to form at the US$175,000 Asian Development Tour event with a five birdie, one bogey score to match his opening day tally.
His eight-under-par total leads the field by two shots ahead of Malaysia’s Marcus Lim (66), and a further two shots in front of Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto (66), all three posting the low score of the day.
Despite already challenging for the lead, rising Malaysian star Marcus Lim was circumspect about the first 36 holes of his professional career.
Malaysia’s Marcus Lim pictured in action at the PKNS Selangor Masters. The US$175,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at Kelab Seri Selangor from June 19-23, 2024. Picture courtesy PKNS Selangor Masters.
“Honestly I’m just happy with the way I’ve played over the past two days,” he said after his round. “It was a bit of a grind but I definitely hit it a lot better today. I know the course and can plot myself around here, I think that’s the key to playing here.
“Tomorrow I’m just going to stick to the same game plan, it seems to be working. Be aggressive when I can and play conservatively when I have to,” he added.
In fourth place, the Thai duo of Sarun Sirithon (67) and Sarut Vongchaisit (68) were joined by Singapore’s James Leow (69), one of the late finishers who struggled with low light conditions at the end of the day.
Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong (72) and Nopparat Panichphol (69) share seventh place going into the final two rounds with Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (70) and Amir Nazrin (72).
in 11th spot, on even par, Australia’s Deyen Lawson (71) and Jared Edwards (71) are joined by Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu (69) and Dodge Kemmer of the USA (72).
At one over par in a share of 15th place are Thailand’s Poosit Suprapramai, Tawit Polthai and Witchayapat Sinsrang, Paul San of Malaysia, Singapore’s Marc Ong, Michael Herrera of the USA and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.
Despite better weather than yesterday, the challenging Selangor course gave no quarter to the field today, with every player enduring the penalty of at least one bogey in their round.
The cut was made at four over par and 51 players will continue into the final two rounds. Play will resume at 7.45am tomoorow with the final group teeing of at 9.13am.
Indian veteran Rahil Gangee ground out a one shot lead in the first round of the PKNS Selangor Masters, with seven birdies and three bogeys in his four-under-par score illustrating the challenging nature of the Kelab Seri Selangor course.
He leads by one shot in the rain-delayed tournament, heading local favourite Amir Nazrin who posted three birdies to claim second spot. He was joined by Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong who finished late in the day.
“I’m feeling very tired right now,” said Gangee after his round, “It’s hot out here, it’s sweaty, but I’m happy.
“I haven’t been playing much, “ he said. “I had an injury on my intercostal muscle and had to just sit around for a month and a bit. When I got back to it, there was no speed, no strength and last week was a struggle for me just to walk around. This week seems a little bit better, speed’s come back” he added.
“I’ve played this golf course before and there are good memories,” he explained. “I know where to miss it and what the putts do, so all in all, a good day.”
Malaysia’s Syahiran Syakir pictured in action at the PKNS Selangor Masters. The US$175,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at Kelab Seri Selangor from June 19-23, 2024. Picture courtesy PKNS Selangor Masters.
Play was suspended due to adverse weather at 3.57 pm, and the wait for the greens to dry sufficiently on holes 13 and 18 meant play was unable to resume until 5.30pm at the US$175,000 Asian Development Tour event.
In fourth place in the clubhouse were Malaysia’s Syahiran Syakir, Marcus Lim and Casper Loh, Dodge Kemmer and Michael Herrera of the USA and Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat on two under par.
Still on course at close of play with the same score was Australia’s Jared Edwards, who had two holes to go when play was suspended at 7.29pm due to bad light. Play will resume at 7.30am tomorrow.
In 11th place, on one under par and finished for the day, were Thailand’s Witchayapat Sinsrang and Sangchai Kaewcharoen, Daeng Rahman of Malaysia and Singapore’s James Leow.
Looking to complete their rounds in the morning and currently on one under par were Order of Merit leader Ahmad Baig of Pakistan, who won last week’s event in Vietnam, Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin, winner here in 2022, and Thailand’s Danthai Boonma, Amarin Kraivixien and Tanapat Pichaikool.
Main pic: India’s Rahil Gangee pictured in action at the PKNS Selangor Masters. The US$175,000 Asian Development Tour event is being held at Kelab Seri Selangor from June 19-23, 2024. Picture courtesy PKNS Selangor Masters.
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