Tawit Polthai made a strong start to the BRG Open Golf Championship in Vietnam on Wednesday, carding a four-under-par 68 to lead the field after the first day’s play at BRG Da Nang Golf Resort.

The 28-year-old Thai, who finished third in the Laguna Phuket Cup in May, opened the day with back-to-back birdies, and posted four more on his back nine, with just two dropped shots, to finish ahead of a strong field.

He found the conditions tricky, finding the water on a few occasions but was able to recovered from an errant driver.

“It was a good day today even though I hit a lot of bad shots. Course was very windy, and it was difficult to get the ball in the right position,” he said.

“My short game was good but the tee shots were bad. I just want to improve my first shots for the next two rounds,” he added.

Paul San
His playing partner Paul San of Malaysia leads a chasing group of six players on three-under-par, together with Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines, England’s William Harrold and Sweden’s Oscar Zetterwall, who holed out o the par 4 eighth for an eagle.

Also in second place is Calle Strandberg of Sweden, making his debut appearance on the Asian Development Tour, who will be optimistic about his chances for a strong finish in the US$75,000 event.

Starting on the back nine, he carded two quick birdies before giving both shots back with a double on the par 4 14th hole, but recovered with three subsequent birdies to finish the day on three under and posted the early lead.

China’s Chen Guxin, winner of the Blue Canyon Classic in May, started strongly from the 10th tee with birdie, adding two more before the turn. A bogey/birdie pair meant he was unable to improve on his score and he finished the day also tied for second.

Miguel Delgado
Miguel Delgado of the USA, one of the day’s early starters, navigated his way around the course with one bogey and two birdies on each nine. A newcomer to the Asian Development Tour, his two-under-par 70 and a share of eight place will inspire confidence for the remaining two days of competition.

Singapore’s Nicklaus Chiam, a promising amateur making his start as a professional this year, began steadily but an unfortunate triple bogey on the par-4 eight hole threatened to derail his round. He recovered well, carding four birdies on his back nine to also finish with 70.

Thailand’s Pisitchai Thippong makes up the group in eighth, together with local contender Truong Chi Yuan, looking to make amends on home soil after missing the cut in last week’s BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur event.

Shinichi Mizuno of Japan, winner of the PGM Maybank Championship in 2018, played a steady round to finish with 71, making the turn at one-under-par after starting on the 10th tee, but despite one further birdie, a bogey on the last hole deprived him of a better position on the leaderboard.

Gregory Foo of Singapore, opened well with three straight birdies, but then gave two shots back shortly after and was unable to improve his score on the back nine to finish at one under. Galven Green of Malaysia and the USA’s Sam Gillis both carded one under par to share 12th place with Foo and Mizuno.