St Andrews: Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee had a late birdie to thank for keeping him at even-par 72 after enduring a torrid time on his back nine at the British Open on Thursday.
Thongchai Jaidee watches his drive at the sixth hole.
The three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner enjoyed a flawless front-nine 34, highlighted by birdies on the fifth and sixth holes.
However, it was a different tale in his homeward run as the 45-year-old struggled amid the blustery conditions to see his front-nine efforts wiped out by bogeys on holes 11, 12 and 14.
Thongchai’s saving grace would however come at the par-four 18th where his birdie prevented him from slipping further down the leaderboard.
“It was really tough in the back-nine as we were playing into the winds. I struggled and was really happy that I managed to birdie 18 to keep my score respectable,” said Thongchai, who took a share of 64th place, seven shots back of first round leader Dustin Johnson of the US.
“Weather’s going to play an important role in the next round and hopefully I can have some luck too,” added the 13-time Asian Tour winner.
Compatriot Kiradech Aphibarnrat returned with a 73.
The 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion awoke to a ‘different’ course, trading four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey to take a share of 87th place.
“It was a completely different course from the one I played during my practice rounds. The winds really picked up today and the greens were very fast. I had difficulty controlling my ball speed and I hit into the bunkers on a couple of occasions,” said Kiradech.
India’s Anirban Lahiri emerged as the leading Asian player after the first round when he posted a 69 to take a share of 18th place.
While he was satisfied with his opening round efforts, Lahiri hoped that other players from the Asian Tour could better their first-round scores.
“I know I played pretty solid today and I hope more of us can do better over the next three days. Hopefully one of us can get into the mix on Sunday,” said Lahiri.
Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, a two-time Asian Tour winner, also put the spotlight on the region’s tour by carding a 70. Karlberg, who teed off in the last group, got off strongly with four birdies in his first 10 holes.
The father-to-be, however dropped two shots in his last three holes to see his advantage being reduced.
“It was tough right from the start as it was very windy. I was four-under for a long time and I really tried my best to hold on to that. But in the end it was so dark that I could hardly see the line and I bogeyed two of my last three holes,” said Karlberg.