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Day 2
Day 1

August 1st 2009, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei: Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit continued his age-defying act by rolling back the years to take the third round lead at the Brunei Open on Saturday.

The 53-year-old Thai carded a seven-under-par 64 for a three-day total of 13-under-par 200 to take a one shot lead over Philippines’ Jay Bayron who posted a 67 at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar took a share of third place with Australia’s Scott Barr and Korea’s Ted Oh on matching 202s.

Starting the day in tied-11th, Boonchu got off strongly with three birdies starting from the second to the fourth hole. His birdie blitz continued with another at the 11th after the turn.

A magical eagle three on the par-five 15th then moved him up to the top with another closing birdie on the 18th confirming his lead.

“The week’s turning out to be a fantastic one for me. I’ve been playing well and it’s always nice to know that I can still play with these younger players on the Asian Tour and continue to take the lead,” said Boonchu, also a board member of the Asian Tour.

Bayron continued to stake a strong claim for his maiden Asian Tour title on a day where temperatures rose to a high of 33 degrees Celsius.

“I can’t really ask for more on an extremely hot day like this. My driving and putting have all been in top form and I’m hoping that this will continue into the final day tomorrow,” said Bayron.

The Filipino birdied his second hole but returned that shot with a bogey on the par-three seventh. He posted two more birdies on the 10th and 11th straight after the turn only to drop another shot on the 13th.

However, he answered with an eagle and a birdie on the 15th and 16th to remain on course for his career breakthrough on the Asian Tour.

Bhullar made the biggest move of the day by storming up the leaderboard to take a share of third place after starting the day in tied-21st.

The 21-year-old produced a performance of his own by marking his blemish-free card with a total of seven birdies.

With the possibility of becoming the first player on the Asian Tour to win back-to-back victories this season, the Indian talent is now banking on the mental strength that he has acquired over the years to win his second title in two weeks.

“The thing is to keep everything simple and one thing that has worked for me is to keep my mind relaxed,” said Bhullar

“I think I’ve become a better player after playing the Open in Turnberry. My mental vision towards my goal has definitely changed a lot. Playing on the Asian Tour has also helped me a lot as it taught me how to keep myself in contention week after week,” added the Indian who recently became the youngest Indian to compete in the world’s oldest major a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile compatriot Chinnaswamy Muniyappa set a new course record after firing a sparkling 62.

The 32-year-old Indian from Bangalore notched not only his best score of the week after rounds of 69 and 72, but also put himself in contention for his first win on the Asian Tour.

“This is definitely my strongest start since I turned professional. I always knew that I could play golf well and today’s round has really shown what I’m capable of,” said Muniyappa who heads into the final round tied for sixth.