HONG KONG — Thai veteran star Thongchai Jaidee, Filipino swinger Juvic Pagunsan and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh were Asia’s top performers with three-under-par 67s as the trio ended the first round of the US$2 million UBS Hong Kong Open three shots back of Spanish high-flier Rafa Cabrera Bello on Thursday.
Cabrera Bello sensationally eagled his last hole from the fairway to grab a one-shot lead from Frenchman Sebastien Gros following a stellar six-under-par 64, spinning a wedge approach from 99 yards into the 10th hole at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Players start their rounds from either the first or 11th tee for the opening two days.
Gros sank five birdies for second place, followed by a large group of players on 66, who include 2014 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner David Lipsky of the United States, American Paul Peterson, Australian Sam Brazel and two-time Asian Tour winner Jbe Kruger of South Africa.
Thongchai, a three-time Asian Tour number one, was rock solid, hitting top form which he attributed to putting a new golf ball and new irons into his golf bag ahead of the UBS Hong Kong Open, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Hong Kong Golf Association.
“I played solid. I hit a lot of greens, didn’t miss much on the fairways. I’ve not hit it like this for two months. I don’t think I’ve seen my golf swing like this, in two or three months. That’s why we caught up a little bit,” said the 47-year-old Thongchai.
Thongchai, who has not finished lower than 19th position in Hong Kong since 2005, feels he can contend for the season-ending UBS Hong Kong Open title to end the year on a winning note.
“We know the course very well, that’s the first thing. We’re confident we can shape the shots on this course because the fairway is very tight and it gives me confidence to play,” said Thongchai, who has six top-10s here.
Straight-shooting Siddikur got his bid for a third Asian Tour title off on a solid note, shooting a bogey-free card like Thongchai en route to his 67. “I’m excited as I was hitting it good. I did some changes with my club shafts and that’s helped me a lot. My ball is going higher, I hit a lot of five iron shots which stayed on the greens and that helps. I missed a lot of birdie chances as I hit 15 greens in regulation but I can’t complaint as the greens are really quick and I was scared of making three putts,” said the 32-year-old Siddikur, who finished runner-up in the Mauritius Open earlier this season.
Ten years after bursting onto the scene which included an eye-catching runner-up finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open in 2006, sweet-swinging Pagunsan put himself back in position to contend.
The 38-year-old played down his good start which included three straight birdies late in his round. “Maybe I just got lucky. You know, Hong Kong, it’s a memorable tournament for me,” said the Filipino.
World number 33 Cabrera Bello, a two-time European Tour champion, extended his fine form in 2016 in which he has notched two runner-up finishes and four other top-fives. He beamed with delight after seeing his ball disappear at the hole from the fairway.
“Yeah, that was nice. I had perfect distance, hit a really good shot and was surprised to see it go in. I had never really finished a round like that, and felt nice,” said the 32-year-old. “I played really smart, made very little mistakes, even though I hit every green, pretty much all of them, didn’t give myself trouble off the tee. I was in control all day and putted nicely, too, so it was nice work out there,” he added.
Title holder Justin Rose of England bogeyed the 18th hole to settle for a level par 70 after starting the week with uncertainty over a back injury which saw him withdraw from a tournament last week.
“I was pretty happy with that to be honest. I felt good with my body out there. I felt like I hit a lot of good golf shots. Just really struggled on the greens. I thought they were tricky this afternoon. I didn’t quite have the speed,” said the world number 15.
Scores after round 1 of the UBS Hong Kong Open Championship 2016 being played at the par 70, 6710 Yards Hong Kong GC course (am – denotes amateur):
64 – Rafa CABRERA BELLO (ESP).
65 – Sebastien GROS (FRA).
66 – Sam BRAZEL (AUS), Paul PETERSON (USA), Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG), Nacho ELVIRA (ESP), Jordan L SMITH (ENG), Jorge CAMPILLO (ESP), David LIPSKY (USA), Peter UIHLEIN (USA), Jbe KRUGER (RSA), Benjamin HEBERT (FRA).
67 – Juvic PAGUNSAN (PHI), Jason SCRIVENER (AUS), Justin WALTERS (RSA), Danthai BOONMA (THA), Nathan KIMSEY (ENG), Thongchai JAIDEE (THA), Nino BERTASIO (ITA), Jens FAHRBRING (SWE), Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN).
68 – Marcus ARMITAGE (ENG), Steve LEWTON (ENG), Ian POULTER (ENG), Shiv KAPUR (IND), Carlos PIGEM (ESP), Paul DUNNE (IRL), Danny WILLETT (ENG), LU Wei-chih (TPE), Wade ORMSBY (AUS).
