Thai hotshot Panuphol Pittayarat put himself in position for a breakthrough win after carding a seven-under-par 65 to grab the halfway clubhouse lead by two shots at the US$300,000 Indonesia Open on Friday.

The 24-year-old Panuphol, who enjoyed a joint runner-up finish last year, fired nine birdies against two bogeys to sit atop the leaderboard on 11-under-par 133 total at the Pondok Indah Golf course.

 

 

            Panuphol, nicknamed as “Coconut” by his parents, turned professional at a young age of 14

 

Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul returned with a 66 to take second place while countrymen Rattanon Wannasrichan (66) and Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (68) shared third with Australian Martin Andrew (65) on 136.

 

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar was tied for 19th. 

 

Panuphol, who started the round two shots back, dropped a shot on the second hole but bounced back brilliantly with four birdies to turn in 33. He picked up five more birdies on his way home, including three consecutive ones from 15, before dropping another shot on the last. He said, "I had a good round today. I just stuck to my routine. I didn’t really have a good start because I three-putted my second hole and made bogey. But I kept smiling and I kept hitting the greens and moved on from that hole. My putting was good today which helped. Started off the year good and then slowed down during the last five tournaments. I am more comfortable now with my ball striking and confident in my swing."
 

 

Play was suspended at 3.42pm local time due to lightning threats before resuming about an hour later. It was later abandoned for the day at 5.25pm due to fading light. A total of 14 players will return at 6.30am on Saturday to resume their second round with the third round slated to start not earlier than 8.00am. The halfway cut is projected to be at one-over-par 145 with the top 65 and ties progressing into the final two rounds.

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW?

 

• Panuphol amassed 28 putts and hit a total of 16 greens in regulation in his solid round of 65.
• Panuphol has enjoyed three top-10s in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand so far this season. He sits in 23rd place on the current Order of Merit.
• Panuphol came in three shots back of India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar to grab a share of second place at the Indonesia Open last year.
• Panuphol is nicknamed “Coconut” by his parents and he turned professional at a young age of 14.
• Namchok is a one-time winner on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
• The 30-year-old Namchok marred his otherwise perfect card with a double-bogey on the par-three 17th hole. He had fired eight birdies in his commendable round of 66.
• Rattanon claimed his maiden Asian Tour win on home soil earlier in May.
• The 22-year-old Rattanon needed only 22 putts around the greens for his round of 66 today.
• Starting from the 10, Rattanon traded three birdies against a bogey to turn in 34. He added another birdie on the third hole and gave it away on the fifth before storming home with four straight birdies from the sixth.
• A total of four Thai players are sitting inside top-five on the current leaderboard.

Day 1: Brilliant Bhullar scores a spectacular hole-in-one, shares lead at Indonesia Open