Thailand’s Panuphol ‘coconut’ Pittayarat took advantage of a soft and short Laguna National course to fire a nine-under-par 63 to lead The Championship by one shot after yesterday’s first round.
Heavy rain and a lightning threat delayed the start of play at the European and Asian Tour event, with preferred lies employed meaning the world number 451’s bogey-free round would not count as a new course record.
It was of little concern to the 21-year-old, given the nickname coconut by his father who is also his caddie, after a sparkling performance featuring only 22 putts.
“I was very happy with how I played. I didn’t see it coming,” Panuphol told reporters before explaining his fruity name.
“It’s common to have nicknames back home in Thailand. I have got a brother nicknamed ‘tamarind’ and a sister named ‘lemon’.”
Panuphol missed the cut in each of his three events on the Asian Tour this year but he went bananas with birdies yesterday to lead Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, American David Lipsky and South Korea’s Kim Byung-jun by one.
The $1.5 million event was due to be hosted in the homeland of Kim, the joint worst ranked player in the field at 1,529 in the world, but the European and Asian Tour announced the switch of venues to Singapore last month after “staging issues”.
Singaporean Quincy Quek, playing the course the wrong way around, finished with two birdies to join the group at eight-under as a number of Asian Tour players made a strong start to the event lacking Europe’s elite.
Another Thai, Arnond Vongvanij, known as ‘bank’ because he was born the night after his mother took her exams for her Masters degree in financial banking, briefly threatened golf’s golden number of 59 before settling for a 65.
Arnond opened his round with four birdies as he reached the turn in 30. He added further birdies to reach eight-under after 11 holes only for a double-bogey five at his penultimate hole dumped him down into a share of seventh under fading light.
Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Anirban Lahiri of India was tied 16th after a 67, while defending champion Brett Rumford was well down the field after carding a two-under 70. A score matched by last week’s China Open winner Alexander Levy of France.
Trump buys historic Turnberry
New York: American real estate tycoon Donald Trump has announced the biggest addition yet to his golf course holdings—Open Championship host Turnberry.
Trump said in a statement that he had agreed to buy the fabled links course on the west coast of Scotland, calling it “an honour and a privilege to own one of golf’s greatest and most exciting properties.”
The Trump Organization did not disclose terms of the deal, but the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported Trump bought it for the “bargain price” of 35.7 million pounds ($60 million, 43 million euros) from Dubai-based Leisurecorp.
Trump said he intended to invest “many millions of dollars” to improve the resort’s Turnberry Hotel, although he said he wouldn’t consider any changes to the golf course unless the Royal & Ancient, global golf’s governing body, approve them.
“I won’t do anything to the golf course at all without their full stamp of approval,” Trump told golf.com.
Turnberry’s Ailsa Course has hosted the Open Championship four times, most recently in 2009, when Stewart Cink defeated Tom Watson in a playoff.
Watson won the first and most famous edition of the Open to be held at Turnberry, claiming a one-stroke victory over Jack Nicklaus in 1977, their final round battle known as the “Duel in the Sun.”
Australian Greg Norman lifted the Claret Jug at Turnberry in 1986 and Zimbabwe’s Nick Price won there in 1994.