Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat is a big man on a mission. He hobbled his way to an opening 4-under 67 at THE NORTHERN TRUST on Thursday, his gutsy start keeping his FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup hopes alive.

 

 

 

 

The 30-year-old Thai produced five birdies against a lone bogey at a sun-kissed Liberty National Golf Club to end the first round five back of leader Troy Merritt who opened with a blistering nine-birdie 62.

 

 

 

Entering the Playoffs in 76th place of the FedExCup points list, Kiradech needs a projected 27th place finish here to progress into next week’s BMW Championship in Chicago, which is restricted to the top-70 players. The best 30 golfers will then advance into the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship in Atlanta where the FedExCup champion will pocket a handsome US$15 million.

 

 

 

 

“I hit the ball solid and rolled the putts better, although some putts didn’t drop,” said Kiradech, who needed 27 strokes with his flagstick in the round.

 

 

 

“You have to keep the ball on the fairway and keep it in position. I think I played better than the score today but overall, it’s a good start.”

 

 

While he could have benefited from a hot putter, Kiradech is more concerned for his injured right knee as he walked  with a slight limp off the course and immediately required treatment with TOUR physios.

 

 

“It’s a bit swollen now, so hopefully the treatment will help,” he said. Kiradech is hoping to make a late push into the top-8 of the International Team standings for the Presidents Cup. He is currently 20th on the points list and trails eighth-ranked C.T. Pan by 37.69 points, which is derived from the Official World Golf Ranking.

 

(Asian Tour)