Thai hotshot Suteepat Prateeptienchai signalled his strong intention to seal the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit crown by firing a three-under-par 69 in blustery conditions to take the opening-round lead at the Taifong Open on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Thai, who leads the money list thanks to three victories and five top-10s, fired five birdies against a double-bogey to lead by one shot over compatriot Sajawat Sriprasit and defending champion Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei at the Taifong Golf Club.

Local stars Chan Shih-chang, a five-time Asian Tour winner, Hung Chien-yao, winner of the 2020 Taifong Open, as well as Kevin Yu, the highest-ranked Taiwanese player in 188^th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), are amongst those tied in fourth place following matchings 71s.

The Taifong Open is the concluding event of the ADT season, and boasts a prize purse of US$200,000, the joint richest event on the schedule. The top-10 finishers on the final Merit list after completion of play on Sunday will secure their Asian Tour cards for the 2023 season.

Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand

Suteepat, who sits atop the money list with a current haul of US67,948, surprised himself by taking the lead in his first appearance at the Taifong Open and on a day where players battled 35km/h winds and only 11 players broke par.

“My putter is hot today. Good tee shots too, I missed just one fairway on the 14th hole where I had a lost ball but other than that, all else is good. I’m surprised with my score. It was so windy out there,” said Suteepat, coming off the back of a tied-fourth place finish in Saudi Arabia last week.

“Most birdies were made from within six to seven feet. I just hit good drives and place it in good position. It was great to make a birdie on sixth because it’s a toughest hole today. I hit a good drive there and then a soft pitching wedge to about three feet to set up birdie,” he added.

Suteepat is attempting to become the third Thai player to lift the ADT Order of Merit crown following Pavit Tangkamolprasert (2014) and Pannakorn Uthaipas (2017), a former winner of the Taifong Open – which is celebrating its seventh edition on the ADT this season.

Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei

Lee Chieh-po, who has already secured his Asian Tour for 2023 after finishing inside the top-70 on the Order of Merit earlier this month, got his title defence off to a fine start, thanks to a hot putter which helped him navigate his way around the greens in just 25 putts.

“My ball striking was disappointing today but I hit my irons well and I putted well too. Nice to return here as the defending champion but the conditions this week aren’t quite the same as last year. I just want to play my best. Nice to finish with two birdies,” said Lee.

Sajawat, who started from the 10^th, traded four birdies against two birdies and also rode a hot putter.

He said: “I hung in there very well. It’s tough out there. The wind was really blowing. It’s my first time here but I heard about this course before coming. I kind of expected it to be this tough so I’m glad I came back with an under-par round today.

“I putted very well today, that was the key. Made a long 20-footer to save par on the first hole and that’s probably my highlight for today.”

Sajawat Sriprasit of Thailand

Ends.