Shanghai: Thailand\u2019s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Australia\u2019s Scott Hend, ranked first and second respectively on the Asian Tour Order of Merit stayed close to first round leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland after they returned with matching three-under-par 69s to take a share of eighth place at the US$8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Kiradech, rated as one of Asia\u2019s most exciting prospects to emerge in recent years, could have stolen the show by taking the lead if not for two costly double-bogeys on holes four and 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good start again today. I\u2019m really happy with the seven birdies and I managed to hole a lot of putts. The biggest mistakes I made were on the fourth where I hit a very poor drive and on 15th, I had a bad lie and made a double-bogey there again. But overall, I’m still happy with the way I started,\u201d said Kiradech, who trails McIlroy by four shots.<\/p>\n
Fresh off a tied-third finish in Malaysia last week, Kiradech\u2019s stunning form showed no signs of waning and he is confident of putting up another superlative performance against the world\u2019s best players at Sheshan International Golf Club.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I have a good chance of finishing high again this week as I\u2019ve lots of confidence from last week and I’m striking the ball really well right now,\u201d said Kiradech.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Hend is also looking to extend his winning run with the help of his trusted caddie Tony Carolan, a former Asian Tour player.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partnership with Tony is and will always be fantastic! It’s going to be a sad day for me when he goes back to playing himself,\u201d said Hend of Carolan, who will be seeking a return to playing on the Asian Tour at Qualifying School next year.<\/p>\n
Having started the year in 262nd place on the Official World Golf Rankings, Hend has soared up the rankings to 135th place, thanks largely to his treble of victories in Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Macau on the region\u2019s premier Tour this season.<\/p>\n
Hend believes a fourth win in Shanghai is still a huge possibility if he continues to take advantage of the 7,266-yard par 72 course with his big drives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year is obviously going to be a little different because they renovated the course and the fairways are quite soft at the moment and so the ball is not going to travel very far at all,\u201d said Hend.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut having said that, if you can hit your driver pretty far and get the ball onto the fairways, it will make it a lot easier to try and make birdies,\u201d added Hend.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s Gaganjeet Bhullar also posted a 69 to join Kiradech and Hend in eighth place with four other players that include England\u2019s Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson of the United States, Northern Ireland\u2019s Graeme McDowell and Asian Tour honorary member and International Ambassador Ernie Els of South Africa.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Liang Wen-chong signed for a 72 for tied-39th place while Thailand\u2019s Thongchai Jaidee struggled to an opening 76 to share 70th place with Hu Mu of China.<\/p>\n
Korea\u2019s Baek Seuk-hyun posted a 81 to stay at the bottom of the leaderboard in tied-75th place at the year\u2019s final World Golf Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shanghai: Thailand\u2019s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Australia\u2019s Scott Hend, ranked first and second respectively on the Asian Tour Order of Merit stayed close to first round leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland after they returned with matching three-under-par 69s to take a share of eighth place at the US$8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Kiradech, rated as one of Asia\u2019s most exciting prospects to emerge in recent years, could have stolen the show by taking the lead if not for two costly double-bogeys on holes four and 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good start again today. I\u2019m really happy with the seven birdies and I managed to hole a lot of putts. The biggest mistakes I made were on the fourth where I hit a very poor drive and on 15th, I had a bad lie and made a double-bogey there again. But overall, I’m still happy with the way I started,\u201d said Kiradech, who trails McIlroy by four shots.<\/p>\n
Fresh off a tied-third finish in Malaysia last week, Kiradech\u2019s stunning form showed no signs of waning and he is confident of putting up another superlative performance against the world\u2019s best players at Sheshan International Golf Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n