Chinese Taipei, September 24: Australia’s Kevin Yuan made an eagle two on the par-four fifth hole and shot a five-under 67 to lead the Mercuries Taiwan Masters by one shot after the first round on Thursday.
Former champions Jbe Kruger of South Africa and Gavin Green of Malaysia, who played together, shot 68 and share second with Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Thailand’s Atiruj Winaicharoenchai.
Shen Wei-cheng (Chinese Taipei), Denzel Ieremia (New Zealand), Charlie Lindh (Sweden), Ahmad Baig (Pakistan) and Minhyuk Song (Korea) are on 69.
Driver and a putt
Yuan started on the back nine at Taiwan Golf and Country Club and was four under when he reached the 333-yard fifth, his 14th hole.
“So me and Clayton [his caddie] were thinking about hitting driver to reach because we had the front tee box this week, and driver’s been feeling good. So, I hit driver and hit it to like maybe 18 feet, just short of the flag, and I had a really good putt there,” said the 29-year-old, who is 31st on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
He also had five birdies and two bogeys. The second bogey, on his 16th hole, cut his lead from two to one.
A hot day on a tight course
The course is the oldest golf club in Taiwan, with narrow tree-lined fairways and fast, sloping greens, and it was an extremely hot day.
“It was brutal,” said Kruger, who won the event in 2024. “It’s just a tough golf course. You have to play well. You can’t make mistakes.”
Green, playing the event for the first time since his win, has been out for three months with tennis elbow. “I think I just actually played quite well and actually had the feeling of playing nice again,” he said.
Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines and young Thai player Ratchanon Chantananuwat, who turned professional last week, shot 70. Order of Merit leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand shot 71, Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho 74 and defending champion Rattanon Wannasrichan of Thailand 76.
The Asian Tour’s round-one report did not list any Indian players among the leaders. Read our report from the 2019 edition.
