Jakarta: Thailand's Sarit Suwannarut posted an eagle on each of the nine holes in the first round of the Indonesia Open 2023, securing a one-shot lead and boosting his confidence as he bids to get his season back on track.
The double eagle, to his recollection, was the first he has shot in a tournament. The 25-year-old said he felt quite at home in Indonesia on his first visit since securing victory at the Indonesian Masters at the end of last year.
"I'm feeling really good, feeling comfortable. It's been a challenging year. Play has not been really good in the first half of the year but I'm feeling better now so hopefully I can keep going," he said after his round.
Five birdies and one bogey saw Sarit post an eight-under-par round of 64 at the US$500,000 Asian Tour event which is being played at Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta.
"My driver and irons were all right today, but the main thing was the putting. It was really good today. I saw the line on every hole, and everything seemed to drop.
"On the last hole, the tee shot wasn't good. The ball went into the left bunker, but luckily I got a good lie and hit it to the front of the green. I made the putt somehow," he laughed.
Kim Woo-Hyun, Mun Do-Yeob, both from South Korea, and Australia's Scott Hend shared second place after they shot seven-under-par 65.
Hend was bullish about his prospects. "We had lift, clean in place and the course was playing a bit easier. Scoring is going to be quite low this week because the greens are quite receptive. It's nice to get a good first round instead of trying to chase all the time and let's see if we can have another low round," the Aussie said.
Japan's Ryo Hisatsune shared fifth place on six-under-par with Richard T Lee of Canada.
Completing the group in fifth place were Thailand's Nitithorn Thippong and Chang Wei-lun of Taiwan.
Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat finished the morning with a share of ninth place on five-under 67, joining fellow Thai Settee Prakongvech and the Indonesian duo of Elki Kow and amateur Gabriel Hansel Hari.