Porsche Singapore Classic: Kiradech gets off to a flyer with course record 64, shares lead with Smith and Green
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat shoots eight-under-par in opening round of DP World Tour event, Jordan Smith, Gavin Green match him
- Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho cards one-under 71 on return to Laguna National Golf Resort Club
Kiradech Aphibarnrat has not enjoyed his best start to the year, but there were signs his game might be going in the right direction at the Porsche Singapore Classic on Thursday.
The Thai golfer carded an eight-under-par 64 at Laguna National to set a course record, and was then joined in a share of the lead by England’s Jordan Smith and Malaysia’s Gavin Green.
France’s Ugo Coussaud finished a shot further back in fourth, while further down the field, Paul Casey came home with a 68 in his first DP World Tour event since joining LIV, China’s Li Haotong was five under, and Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho produced an up-and-down round of 71 to end the day at one under.
Kiradech has yet to finish in the top 10 this season, despite playing in events across the European circuit and Asian Tour. His best finish, a tie for 13th, was at the latter’s Malaysian Open, and he came into this week on the back of a tie for 14th at the International Series event in Macau.
Still, apart from a bogey at the par-5, his twelfth hole of the day, the 34-year-old made his best start to a tournament in months, and birdied three of his last four holes.
“It’s a very good start,” Kiradech said. “My ball-striking was great the whole day, putting was light work, my game play was sharp. I haven’t been playing as good as I am today for a while. But I managed to control the game and everything seems to be coming in at the right time.”
The four-time European Tour winner said there was nothing complicated about how he planned to approach Friday’s round, other than keeping the ball under the wind and “playing the way I started today”.
Smith produced a bogey-free round, and on the back of a tie for second at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa a fortnight ago said he too felt like his game was “coming along nicely”.
“I definitely got a lot of confidence from South Africa,” the 31-year-old said. “The game just feels like it is in a good place. So I’m really happy with how the game is looking and what sort of shots I’m hitting and holing a few nice putts, that’s always a little bonus.”
For Kho, the week marks a year since he first turned professional, and after a tough time in Macau, where he missed the cut, the Hongkonger said he felt as though he were making progress.
The New Zealand Open aside, where Kho put himself in contention to win heading into the final round, the 23-year-old has struggled for consistency this year and on Thursday his round included four birdies and three bogeys.
“I feel like every part of my game has just sharpened up for the past couple of tournaments, so hopefully I can continue that trend tomorrow,” Kho said.
“It was great being here last year, it was my first pro tournament so it brings back a lot of good memories back this year. I feel like I have a lot more self-belief compared to last year, just knowing that I belong out here and I can play out here. But overall, the day-to-day focus is still the same and I’ll just try to improve my game a little bit every day.”
