Chiba: Pavit Tangkamolprasert shot a six-under-par 65 to stay three shots behind leader Tadahiro Takayama at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup yesterday.
The Thai hotshot's calculated game plan paid off as he shared a third place with Ryuji Masaoka of Japan at the ¥150 million (US$1.37 million) event.
The 28-year-old, who played without a driver in his bag, took advantage of his pinpoint approach shots and acute short game to open up a round of seven birdies against one bogey at the Caledonian Golf Club.
"I have been struggling with my driver for the last six to seven months. My tee shots haven't been good. I have been trying to fix it but the feeling is still not good so this week, I decided to take my driver out from my bag," said Pavit.
"I hit my 3-wood instead. I hit it strong and it turned out well today. My iron-play and short game have been pretty good all year so I was able to card a low score."
Japan's Takayama rode on a hot putter to sign for a stunning nine-under 62, grabbing the opening round lead.
Takayama fired 10 birdies against a bogey to stay atop the leaderboard while South Korea's KT Kim, a two-time winner of the tournament in 2010 and 2015, finished second following a final 64.
"I surprised myself with 10 birdies today. The last time I played this course was 17 years ago at the PGA Championship in 2000. I only remembered the 18th hole so I am really surprised with how I played today," said Takayama.
Satoshi Kodaira of Japan, Song Young-Han of South Korea and South African Jbe Kruger shared fifth after carding identical rounds of 66 at the event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the JGTO.