Hoylake: Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat believes he has turned the corner of his lackluster season despite missing the halfway cut for the second straight year at The Open Championship on Friday.<\/p>\n
Two late bogeys in his round of three-over-par 75 at Royal Liverpool proved costly for the reigning Asian Tour number one as he agonisingly missed the weekend play by one shot in the year\u2019s third Major.<\/p>\n
Korean star K.J. Choi also suffered a similar fate with two bogeys in his last five holes proving decisive as he also settled for a disappointing 75 which left him one shot too many.<\/p>\n
The burly Kiradech lamented once more on his erratic short game but took solace by the fact that his ball-striking was nearly back to its best following a season to remember in 2013 when he won once and posted five other top-fives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still hit the ball really well. But I was struggling a lot around the greens, chipping and putting was not good,\u201d said Kiradech.<\/p>\n
After early bogeys, he fought back with birdies on five and eight but dropped four more shots in a seven-hole stretch to miss the mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI missed a few short putts, missed a one-footer on the third hole which I\u2019ve never missed from that distance in my life. I managed to come back with a few birdies but I couldn\u2019t birdie 16 and 18 (both par fives). I tried my best. Hit the ball quite well and solid but I just couldn\u2019t sink my putts,\u201d said Kiradech.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying so hard. I was in the greenside bunker on 18 but couldn\u2019t get it up and down for birdie. I forced myself too much but I\u2019m happy with how I played.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started, the winds were so strong but I managed to control my ball under the wind. I hit many good shots. But when I needed a birdie, I couldn\u2019t sink the putts. The course was different from the first round as the winds picked up especially on the front nine.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking the cut in a Major championship is important. But I think I\u2019ve got my confidence back as I\u2019m starting to hit the ball well again. I\u2019m looking forward to picking up a trophy in the second half of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hoylake: Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat believes he has turned the corner of his lackluster season despite missing the halfway cut for the second straight year at The Open Championship on Friday.<\/p>\n
Two late bogeys in his round of three-over-par 75 at Royal Liverpool proved costly for the reigning Asian Tour number one as he agonisingly missed the weekend play by one shot in the year\u2019s third Major.<\/p>\n
Korean star K.J. Choi also suffered a similar fate with two bogeys in his last five holes proving decisive as he also settled for a disappointing 75 which left him one shot too many.<\/p>\n
The burly Kiradech lamented once more on his erratic short game but took solace by the fact that his ball-striking was nearly back to its best following a season to remember in 2013 when he won once and posted five other top-fives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still hit the ball really well. But I was struggling a lot around the greens, chipping and putting was not good,\u201d said Kiradech.<\/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-19637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n