![\"Thitiphun](\"images\/golf\/Thitiphun-Chuayprakong-of-Thailand-at-Bashundhara-Bangladesh-Open.jpg\")
Dhaka: Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong produced a bogey-free round of five-under-par 66 to soar into the lead after the halfway stage of the US$300,000 Bashundhara Bangladesh Open on Thursday.<\/p>\nDhaka: Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong produced a bogey-free round of five-under-par 66 to soar into the lead after the halfway stage of the US$300,000 Bashundhara Bangladesh Open on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old Thai, who opened his campaign with a 65, highlighted his round with five birdies to grab a two-shot lead over Korea’s Soomin Lee on 11-under-par 131 total at the Kurmitola Golf Club.<\/p>\n
Overnight co-leader Lee settled for second place following a 69 while Indian trio Chikkarangappa S. (66), Shubhankar Sharma (68) and five-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar (67) took third place on 134 with Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (66) and Sutijet Kooratanapisan (67) of Thailand.<\/p>\n
Md Abdul Matin and Shakhawat Sohel emerged as the highest placed local players in tied-10th position on 136 following respective rounds of 68 and 66 in the second edition of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.<\/p>\n
Thitiphun, searching for a first Asian Tour win, was delighted to rediscover some of his best form as he negotiated around the course with only 25 putts.<\/p>\n
His highlights of the day came on the par-three sixth where he sank a 30-footer birdie putt and on the 11 where he chipped in for birdie from 60 feet.<\/p>\n
“I am feeling very excited to be on top of the leaderboard now. I have played well for a long time but I still feel comfortable with my game. Hopefully I can stay this week till the end of the week.<\/p>\n
“I will just keep doing the same for the next two rounds. I will try not to think too much about my scores. I will stick to my game plan and try to do my best out there,” Thitiphun said.<\/p>\n
Lee was disappointed not to emulate his opening round magic but took it in his stride as he is still in a favourable position heading into the next two rounds.<\/p>\n
“I started from the 10 and made my first birdie of the day on 12 where I sank a 25-footer putt. That got my game going. I told myself to keep trying to hit good shots like how I did yesterday but it didn’t happen which was disappointing. Overall, my game was good although my iron-play wasn’t as sharp as yesterday,” said Lee, who traded five birdies against two bogeys.<\/p>\n
“I still have two more rounds to go. I just want to enjoy myself. Knowing that I’ve played well on this course before definitely gives me a bit of confidence. Hopefully I can remain consistent for the next two rounds,” added Lee, who is playing in his second year on the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
Chikkarangappa had a slow start to the round where he nailed only one birdie against eight pars to turn in 34. He dropped a shot on 10 but bounced back gallantly with a birdie-birdie-eagle starting from 12 before closing with a 25-footer birdie putt on 18.<\/p>\n
“I played alright on the front nine. I stumbled with a bogey on 10 and I didn’t hit a good drive on 11 but the turning point came on the 12. I holed a 15-footer for birdie and made a second straight birdie on 13 before chipping in for eagle from just off the green on 14,” said the 22-year-old Indian.<\/p>\n
“I am just going to stick to my game for the next two rounds. I have been in contention before and I just want to stick through it. It’s all about being patient, staying calm and relax. I just want to enjoy myself out there,” Chikkarangappa added.<\/p>\n
A total of 70 players made the halfway cut set at one-over-par 143 at the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With the Olympic Games looming in July where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open will be a good opportunity for players in the region to earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro with the Official World Golf Ranking points on offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dhaka: Thailand’s Thitiphun Chuayprakong produced a bogey-free round of five-under-par 66 to soar into the lead after the halfway stage of the US$300,000 Bashundhara Bangladesh Open on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old Thai, who opened his campaign with a 65, highlighted his round with five birdies to grab a two-shot lead over Korea’s Soomin Lee on 11-under-par 131 total at the Kurmitola Golf Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[14577,11411,517,12943,14675,14424,5930,14626,6952],"class_list":["post-25688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news","tag-bashundhara-bangladesh-open","tag-chikkarangappa-s","tag-gaganjeet-bhullar","tag-golf-news","tag-md-abdul-matin","tag-scott-vincent","tag-shubhankar-sharma","tag-soomin-lee","tag-thitiphun-chuayprakong"],"yoast_head":"\n