![\"Namchok](\"images\/golf\/Namchok-Tantipokhakul-YTPC.jpg\")
Taipei: Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul got the lead he deserved after firing a seven-under-par 65 to share the opening round honours with Spain’s Javi Colomo at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\nTaipei: Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul got the lead he deserved after firing a seven-under-par 65 to share the opening round honours with Spain’s Javi Colomo at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Colomo also enjoyed an encouraging start to the week after he traded eight birdies against a lone bogey to find himself occupying prime position with Namchok.<\/p>\n
Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who set the early pace in the morning, posted a 66 to share third place with Spain’s Carlos Pigem at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n
Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena returned with a 67 to grab a share of fifth place with Casey O’Toole of the United States at the US$500,000 event, which is also the final Olympic qualifying event on the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
Namchok was clearly the man to catch when he flew off the blocks with two birdies in his opening three holes on the back-nine 10th.<\/p>\n
He soared further ahead with a pair of eagles on the 18th and first holes before stretching his advantage further with birdies on holes three and four.<\/p>\n
A lone bogey five on seven eventually brought his charge to a halt but he would par the last two holes for an inward 33.<\/p>\n
“My driving accuracy was spot on today and I didn’t make many mistakes apart from that bogey on seven. This is a very challenging golf course especially the greens which you have to learn to read them well.<\/p>\n
“I managed to do that today and it showed on my card. I’m just going out there to enjoy myself again like what I did today and hopefully I’ll be back smiling again,” said Namchok.<\/p>\n
Colomo was also a man on fire as he charged out with an outward 33. The Spaniard then stormed ahead with four birdies in his next five holes after the turn.<\/p>\n
He dropped a shot on six before making amends with another birdie on eight.<\/p>\n
“All in all, it was a good day. The conditions were good and I didn’t make much mistakes today. The greens are tough to read but I managed to do pretty okay except maybe on the sixth hole where I made my only bogey for the day.<\/p>\n
“Apart from that, everything is good and for tomorrow, I’m just going out there to enjoy my game like what I did today,” said Colomo.<\/p>\n
Pariya, whose last victory on the Asian Tour dated back to 2013, mixed six birdies, two bogeys and an eagle to enjoy a brief lead after the morning rounds.<\/p>\n
The Thai has only made the cut thrice in eight starts but a solid round of 66 has brought about renewed hope as he attempts to end a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
The two-time Asian Tour winner was almost flawless in his tee and approach shots and is hoping for his putter to work and complete his overall strategy for the week.<\/p>\n
“It has been a while since I gave an interview after a round. It’s good to be in this position. I’m playing well. My driver and irons are spot on. I missed a few putts and a couple of birdie chances but I made it up with an eagle on four.<\/p>\n
“I’ll try to keep it up again as my ball striking is there and if my putter can cooperate a little more, I’ll be in for a good chance,” said Pariya.<\/p>\n
O’Toole is hoping his promising start at the Yeangder TPC will not be a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old American enjoyed a stellar season on the secondary Asian Development Tour (ADT) where he was crowned the ADT champion.<\/p>\n
However, he has not be able to replicate his winning form with only a tied-fifth finish in Myanmar as his best showing so far.<\/p>\n
“To be honest, I’ve not been playing well these past couple of months. This is one of my lowest rounds so far and I’m definitely happy with how I’ve played.<\/p>\n
“I thought I did a lot of things which were really good. Nothing really spectacular but just played a really solid round of golf. Hopefully it’s not a fluke and I can continue to do well,” said O’Toole.<\/p>\n
Leading Scores after round 1 of the Yeangder TPC 2016 being played at the par 72, 7108 Yards Linkou GcC course (am – denotes amateur): Colomo also enjoyed an encouraging start to the week after he traded eight birdies against a lone bogey to find himself occupying prime position with Namchok.<\/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":[10957,12943,7306,13510,9776,1566],"class_list":["post-27607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news","tag-carlos-pigem","tag-golf-news","tag-javi-colomo","tag-namchok-tantipokhakul","tag-pariya-junhasavasdikul","tag-yeangder-tournament-players-championship"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>
65 – Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA), Javi COLOMO (ESP).
66 – Pariya JUNHASAVASDIKUL (THA), Carlos PIGEM (ESP).
67 – Casey O’TOOLE (USA), Miguel TABUENA (PHI).
68 – Kevin MCLISTER (USA), HSU Li-peng (TPE), Giwhan KIM (KOR), HUNG Chien-yao (TPE), Scott BARR (AUS), Michael WRIGHT (AUS), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Darren TAN (AUS).
69 – TSAI Chi-huang (TPE), HSIEH Tung-hung (TPE), Wolmer MURILLO (VEN), HSIEH Chin-sheng (TPE), LU Wen-teh (TPE), Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN), Junseok LEE (AUS), Danny MASRIN (INA), Quincy QUEK (SIN), Jason KNUTZON (USA), Sam BRAZEL (AUS), Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taipei: Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul got the lead he deserved after firing a seven-under-par 65 to share the opening round honours with Spain’s Javi Colomo at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship on Thursday.<\/p>\n