63s lead the way on day one of Singha Thailand Open

LAGUNA, PHUKET: Indian Digvijay Singh and Australian Mitchell Brown set the first round of the Singha Thailand Open alight after the pair posted superb seven-under-par 63s, to lead the field by one stroke.

Singh who started with an eagle on the first, produced a flawless round which culminated with a another eagle at the last hole after his approach from 255 yards dropped to within two feet of the cup and rolled in. Three birdies along the way, with no dropped shots made for a fine first round. “I was lucky to start with an eagle and finish with one,” Singh said.

Brown also chipped in on the first for his eagle on his way to carding his 63. Lifted by his eagle at the first, Brown recorded eight birdies but picked up three bogeys to finish in a tie for the lead. Having missed the cut twice and having been disqualified twice in his last four events, maybe his luck is finally changing.

Thailand’s player of the day was Chapchai Nirat, who carded a six-under-par, bogey free, 64. His performance was made more remarkable given that he had just recovered from a bout of food poisoning and had considered withdrawing. Joining Chapchai on six-under was India’s Gagan Jeet Bhullar and Australia’s Unho Park.

Two time Thailand Open winner Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand rolled back the years and posted an impressive five-under-par 65, to trail by just two. After his round Boonchu said, “I really want to win the Kings’ Cup again. It means a lot to me, it is in my heart”. After a strong start, who knows, maybe a hat trick of titles is on. Joining him on five-under was fellow countryman Kwanchai Tannin along with seven other players.

The main draw of the morning was the pairing of Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee. It was the Swede who finished the round on top after carding a three-under-par 67. Thongchai started well and was four-under after seven holes, but dropped shots at the 8th and 9th and finished with one-under-par on 69.

It was a  good day for amateur Thai golfers too as Varan Isarabhakdi and Supakorn Utaipat both posted very respectable three-under-par 67s.