Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam strengthened his grip on the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational, supported by Nomura, today, extending his lead to seven shots with a commanding three-under 67 on the undulating East course of Gunung Geulis Country Club.

Even though he extended his lead, the 24-year-old Thai wasn’t completely happy with his game in the US$100,000 Asian Development Tour event, which runs from August 16-19, 2022.

“Driver and irons weren’t as good today as the first two rounds,” said the young Thai player, who joined the Asian Development Tour in 2019 and is now looking for his first win. “Not that bad but it was windy today and the pin positions were hard. Tomorrow I’m just going to try to keep it on the fairway.”

Compatriot Nirun Sae-Ueng advanced into second with a similar round of 67, while local contender Jonathan Wijono took solo fourth after posting a two-under-par score of 68.

Overnight leader Chen Guxin of China had a disastrous closing stretch, dropping five shots in as many holes at the finish, his plus three score forcing him down into a share of fourth place which he shares with Thailand’s Suttijet Kooratanapisan (68).

Chen was disappointed that he couldn’t build on his scores so far.

“My front nine wasn’t bad, it was OK until the last four or five holes. By then I was maybe a bit tired and started missing the greens. When your second shot is not on the green it leaves you in a very bad position here, it’s hard to get up and down from the bunker because of the slopes. Tomorrow I’ll just try to forget about it, leave the past and focus on the future.”

Three players shared the low score of the day with 66, including Puwit Anupansuebsai of Thailand who leads a group on -3 in sixth place, together with Amir Nazrin of Malaysia and Thailand’s Sarun Sirithon who finished in a group on -1 in 11th place.

Shahriffuddin Ariffin (68) of Malaysia and Lloyd Jefferson Go (70) of the Philippines completed the group in sixth place, while Jerry Chen (69) of the USA and first-round leader Peter Gunawan share ninth place on -2.