Thammanoon equals record

29 Jul 2010 - 14:01:33

A chip-in at the last saw Thammanoon Srirot equal the course record with a 62 and take the first-round lead at the Brunei Open.

Thammanoon fired nine birdies and did not drop a stroke over his opening 18 holes at Empire Hotel and Country Club as the Thai golfer established a two-stroke advantage over Bangladesh's Siddiqur Rahman.

"I'm very impressed with my game," he said. "Everything was perfect from my drive, irons and putting. It was all working 100%. I'm prepared for the challenge this week and if I can keep up my form for the next three days, I might be able to win it."

He added: "I made some swing changes. Previously my shoulders were too stiff so I tried to loosen it a bit and angle my shoulder towards my target.

"It has been working wonders for me as I have been hitting it straight."

Siddiqur, the first Bangladeshi to play on the Asian Tour, carded a 64 that included a hole-in-one at the fourth. It was the second of the day after Taiwan's Sung Mao-chang aced the 14th.

"Of course I'm happy with a seven-under-par," said Siddiqur.

"I putted very well and had a hole-in-one which was the highlight. My putting has been the strong point for me this season.

"This is a confidence booster and I'm looking forward to the next three days. I saw Thammanoon shooting a nine-under and I set a goal to shoot five-under so this was beyond my expectation."

Korean Lee Sung and Australian Adam Groom were tied for third on six under par.