Tamsui: Settee Prakongvech produced a flawless seven-under-par 65 to lead Gavin Green by two shots after the opening round of the Taiwan Masters yesterday.
The 23-year-old Thai surprised even himself when he returned with five birdies and one eagle to take charge at the US$800,000 (approximately 27 million baht) Asian Tour event being played at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club.
Malaysia's Green, third in the tour's Order of Merit thanks to three runner-up results this year, posted six birdies against one bogey to keep up his chase for a first Asian Tour win.
Thailand's Danthai Boonma shared third place alongside Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines and local hope Kao Teng on matching 68s.
Settee was in the first group to tee off in the morning and he took advantage of the calm conditions and a hot putter to shoot his lowest round on the Asian Tour.
Making only his second appearance at the Taiwan Masters, Settee made 24 putts which included five one-putts in his closing holes.
"I didn't expect to shoot a 65. I thought if I played really well, a 68 would be a good score or if I played decent, maybe a 70. But to shoot a 65 is a big surprise to me! This is my lowest score on the Asian Tour," said Settee.
"The first time I played here was in 2014 so I know how difficult this course is. Now I've improved as a player. I have more experience this year and I plan my game better. I'm also playing much better.
"I played really safe and have more confidence with the driver. My shot is getting better as well so I hope to continue this form because my season hasn't been very good so far," he added.
The big-hitting Green looks to build on his runner-up finish in South Korea a fortnight ago where he narrowly missed out on an Asian Tour victory by one shot.
"It was hot out there. There were a couple of holes that were so tough and you had to play on different fairways. That's what I did but I made some putts that saved me. My putting was solid," said Green.
"I had a lot of good holes. When I was in trouble, I still managed to make up-and-down so that was very important."
Danthai has unfinished business at the Taiwan Masters as he finished in a share of third place last year, two shots back from the winner Lu Wei-chih.
"I played very well from tee to green. I stayed out of trouble from my tee shots and gave myself a lot of birdie looks," said the Thai.
"I want to focus on my game this week. If I can keep the ball on the fairway, I will have a chance to score."