![\"Kiradech](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Kiradech-Aphibarnrat-520.jpg\")
Jersey City, New Jersey: Thailand\u2019s Kiradech Aphibarnrat hobbled his way to an opening 4-under 67 at THE NORTHERN TRUST on Thursday, his gutsy start keeping his FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup hopes alive. <\/p>\nJersey City, New Jersey: Thailand\u2019s Kiradech Aphibarnrat hobbled his way to an opening 4-under 67 at THE NORTHERN TRUST on Thursday, his gutsy start keeping his FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup hopes alive. <\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Thai produced five birdies against a lone bogey at a sun-kissed Liberty National Golf Club to end the first round five back of leader Troy Merritt who opened with a blistering nine-birdie 62. <\/p>\n
Entering the Playoffs in 76th place of the FedExCup points list, Kiradech needs a projected 27th place finish here to progress into next week\u2019s BMW Championship in Chicago, which is restricted to the top-70 players. The best 30 golfers will then advance into the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship in Atlanta where the FedExCup champion will pocket a handsome US$15 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hit the ball solid and rolled the putts better, although some putts didn\u2019t drop,\u201d said Kiradech, who needed 27 strokes with his flatstick in the round.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to keep the ball on the fairway and keep it in position. I think I played better than the score today but overall, it\u2019s a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he could have benefited from a hot putter, Kiradech is more concerned for his injured right knee as he walked with a slight limp off the course and immediately required treatment with TOUR physios.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a bit swollen now, so hopefully the treatment will help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kiradech is hoping to make a late push into the top-8 of the International Team standings for the Presidents Cup. He is currently 20th on the points list and trails eighth-ranked C.T. Pan by 37.69 points, which is derived from the Official World Golf Ranking.<\/p>\n
The big-hitting Thai is enjoying his first trip to Jersey City, which neighbours New York. \u201cThe course is in great condition, it\u2019s my first time here and it\u2019s in fantastic shape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need to keep the ball in play this week as it\u2019s a very challenging course with a mix of short and long holes.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jersey City, New Jersey: Thailand\u2019s Kiradech Aphibarnrat hobbled his way to an opening 4-under 67 at THE NORTHERN TRUST on Thursday, his gutsy start keeping his FedExCup Playoffs and Presidents Cup hopes alive. <\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Thai produced five birdies against a lone bogey at a sun-kissed Liberty National Golf Club to end the first round five back of leader Troy Merritt who opened with a blistering nine-birdie 62. <\/p>\n
Entering the Playoffs in 76th place of the FedExCup points list, Kiradech needs a projected 27th place finish here to progress into next week\u2019s BMW Championship in Chicago, which is restricted to the top-70 players. The best 30 golfers will then advance into the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship in Atlanta where the FedExCup champion will pocket a handsome US$15 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf-golf"],"yoast_head":"\n