Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, Korea: Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand recovered from an early bogey to storm into the first round lead at the CJ Invitational Hosted by KJ Choi after shooting seven-under through 13 holes on Thursday.
The Asian Tour Order of Merit leader bogeyed the second hole but bounced back with eight birdies highlighted by a chip-in birdie from the ninth hole greenside bunker at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club.
Kiradech was among 60 players who will return on Friday to resume the first round at 7am after play was called off for the day due to darkness. Play was suspended earlier in the morning for two hours and 30 minutes due to thick fog.
Kim Tae-hoon of Korea finished the day on 66 to take the clubhouse lead while Matthew Stieger of Australia, Kim Jae-ho of Korea, Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand and Jyoti Randhawa of India were a further shot back at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.
Asian Tour honorary member K.J. Choi, who is aiming for an unprecedented third straight win in his own event, was one-over through 13 holes and posting a double bogey on the first hole and adding a birdie on 12.
Kiradech, who won the Maybank Malaysian Open which was sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour in March, was jolted into action when he bogeyed the second hole.
“I’ve been playing very consistently and I guess I’m just carrying on my form. The key for me was when I birdied three straight holes after I three putted for bogey on the second hole. It gave me the confidence to carry on from there,” said Kiradech.
Despite nursing a wrist injury, the Thai, who is nicknamed the ‘John Daly of Asia’ for his grip-it and rip-style of play, remained composed as he outplayed playing partners Choi and Major champion David Toms, who was even par before play was stopped.
“I didn’t feel any pain in my wrist so I think it is 90% healed. I tried to play my own game and not think about anything. I’m very comfortable with my game and I didn’t feel any pressure even though I was playing with K.J. Choi and David Toms,” said Kiradech.
The 28-year-old Kim continued his renaissance after struggling with inconsistent drives in the last eight years. In his efforts to remedy the problem, he had broken at least 30 drivers in practice.
It was only when he lost his Tour card on the Korean Golf Tour last season that he decided to take a different approach in the game which resulted in him regaining playing rights in Korea through Qualifying School and going on to win his first title in August.
“I had the yips with my driver in the last eight years. I was nervous every time I pulled out the driver because I would hit a bad shot. I practised so hard to try to improve on my driving and because I tried too hard, I broke at least 30 drivers,” said the 28-year-old Kim.
“The yips I had with my driver disappeared when I lost my Tour card on the Korean Golf Tour. I started to be more comfortable with my game and took things easy,” he added.
Randhawa took a nap during the morning delay and started the round fresh as he returned with a bogey-free round highlighted by five birdies.
“I went to sleep during the weather delay! My caddy was looking for me and I was in the medical room but nobody could find me. It was a good rest because I was ready to go after that and I came back with a good score,” said the eight-time Asian Tour winner.
The CJ Invitational Hosted by KJ Choi is title sponsored by the CJ Group, Korea’s food-to-entertainment conglomerate and is promoted by IMG.
Leading first round scores
7-under through 13 holes- Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA)
66 - KIM Tae-Hoon (KOR)
67 - Matthew STIEGER (AUS), KIM Jae-Ho (KOR), Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA), Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND)
68 - KANG Sung-Hoon (KOR), JUNG Ji-ho (KOR)
69 - Darren BECK (AUS), Chapchai NIRAT (THA), Rikard KARLBERG (SWE), Anirban LAHIRI (IND), Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS), Berry HENSON (USA), MAENG Dong-seop (KOR).
