Anirban tied fourth, Thitiphun thunders ahead to lead at Venetian Macao Open

Macao: Anirban Lahiri carded a five-under 66 to be placed at tied fourth at the Venetian Macao Open and is two shots behind the leader Thailand's Thitiphun Chuayprakong (64) at the Par-71 Macau Golf and Country Club here.

Anirban said, “I think it was a solid round of golf. I hit it well tee to green and missed about three or four fairways. It was hard. I got away with a couple of pars on those holes, otherwise I stayed pretty solid. I played pretty good today.”

“Having played here a few years, I kind of got my strategies down. I’ve taken out as much stress out of my shots as possible. It’s a bit like Delhi Golf Club. This course gets a bit tight when it gets windy. You have to really know where to hit it. Having played here a few times, you get more comfortable. And obviously when you win you come back to the course and you feel great,” he added.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Thitiphun, who is seeking a first win on the Asian Tour, stormed home in 29 following a brilliant round which included eight birdies at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Young Korean Jeunghun Wang and Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman shot 65s to trail by one while title holder Anirban Lahiri of India and 2013 champion Scott Hend of Australia were amongst those bunched on 66.

Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who broke into the world’s top-50 for the first time in his career this week, battled to a 68 while countryman Thongchai Jaidee, who along with Lahiri had featured in the Presidents Cup last week, carded a 71. South African Ernie Els carded a disappointing 74.
The day belonged to Thitiphun, who needed only 21 putts to put himself atop the leaderboard.

“Today is a lucky day. I didn’t hit it good with my tee shots but I had a good short game. I could make a lot of birdies. This is a great round for me. I’m happy and feel fantastic with a 29 coming in,” said Thitiphun.

Such was his form that he nearly holed out on his last hole, at the ninth, by sending a wedge shot from 91 yards out which found the cup but the ball bounced out. He converted the birdie from 10 feet.

“Last hole, my second shot came back out but I still can make birdie. I have worked a lot with my putting since last year, so it’s working now. The greens are very fast. But I can have a good feel.”

It is a case of “beware the injured golfer” as two-time Asian Tour winner Siddikur enjoyed a bogey-free card to lie one back. He has to endure pain in the lower back due to a pinched nerve but with no expectation at all, Siddikur rose to the occasion.

“I set my mind to take it easy and to protect my back. I have lost about 10 yards in my driving and I’m already a short hitter! But if I can putt like today, it’s okay. I’m happy as after a long time, I had a bogey free round,” said the 30-year-old.

Following his Presidents Cup debut where he was disappointed to not deliver a point for the Internationals, Lahiri bounced back in style with a five-birdie round to lie two back of the leader.

“It’s back to the usual I guess,” said the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader. “I think it was a solid round of golf. I misread a few. Hopefully I can make those six or eight footers through the rest of the week.”

Hend, who was runner-up to Lahiri last year, is now 37-under-par through his last nine rounds at the challenging Macau course and showed his early intent with a solid start. “The first few times I came here, I just didn’t want to come back as it killed me,” he reflected.

“But we’ve seem to found a way to play the course, where to hit it, what to do, and when to be aggressive. I’m normally the sort of guy who will shoot seven birdies and throws in a double and a couple of bogeys. This means I’ve played some solid golf which is positive.”

The Venetian Macao Open is organised by the Macao Sport Development Board of Macao SAR Government and the Golf Association of Macau. Sanctioned by the latter and the Asian Tour, The Venetian® Macao is supporting the iconic event as title sponsor for the fourth successive year.

Scores after round 1 of the Venetian Macau Open 2015 being played at the par 71, 6,604 Yards Macau GCC course (am - denotes amateur):

64 - Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA).
65 - Jeunghun WANG (KOR), Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN).
66 - Scott HEND (AUS), Javi COLOMO (ESP), Brett MUNSON (USA), Anirban LAHIRI (IND).
67 - Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN), Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA), Chiragh KUMAR (IND), Abhijit CHADHA (IND), Rahil GANGJEE (IND), Charlie WI (KOR).
68 - Jonathan MOORE (USA), Keith HORNE (RSA), Adam GROOM (AUS), Anthony KANG (USA), Sam BRAZEL (AUS), Adilson DA SILVA (BRA), LEE Chieh-po (TPE), HUNG Chien-yao (TPE), Jaco AHLERS (RSA), Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA), Poom SAKSANSIN (THA).
69 - Kapil KUMAR (IND), Taewoo KIM (KOR), Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND), Mardan MAMAT (SIN), Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA), LIANG Wen-chong (CHN), Kalem RICHARDSON (AUS), Marvin DUMANDAN (PHI), Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA), Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA).