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Tanihara, Kang shoot 65 to set early pace at Singapore Open
Off it goes: Hideto Tanihara of Japan makes a swing during SMBC Singapore Open round one at the Sentosa Golf Club, Serapong Course, Singapore, on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">Off it goes: Hideto Tanihara of Japan makes a swing during SMBC Singapore Open round one at the Sentosa Golf Club, Serapong Course, Singapore, on Thursday.(Courtesy of Paul Lakatos/Lagardère Sports)
Hideto Tanihara of Japan shrugged off jet lag to grab a share of the clubhouse lead with a flawless six-under-par 65 in the first round of the SMBC Singapore Open on Thursday.
World number 54 Tanihara jetted into Singapore from Hawaii after finishing 27th in the Sony Open but showed little sign of fatigue at the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club.
Korea’s Kyung-nam Kang birdied the 18th hole to join the 38-year-old Tanihara at the top the leaderboard in the prestigious tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organization.
They lead Malaysian young gun Gavin Green and unheralded Korean-born American Seungsu Han by a stroke with South African Shaun Norris, who won the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open last year, a further shot adrift after firing 67.
The Japanese golfer said he enjoyed Thursday’s session because the conditions were not windy.
“With no wind, the play was smooth. The weather can change quickly here. So I’m ready for thunder and rain,” said the 14-time winner on the Japan Tour.
The US$1 million tournament welcomes 156 golfers, with Tanihara in the morning group along with Gaganjeet Bhullar of India and Chan Shih Chang of Taiwan.
Producing a three-under par 68 from five birdies and one eagle, Bhullar admitted he had begun shakily.
“I gave myself a lot of good opportunities and I made some good putts. It was a shaky start though. I missed a few shots from the fairways but I managed to get it back,” said the winner of the 2016 BRI-JCB Indonesia Open in Jakarta.
“It’s the first tournament of the year and I am happy it’s a good start for me. I have played well here at the Serapong course before, especially in 2009 where I qualified for The Open championship as well,” he added.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia shot level-par 71 in his debut at the SMBC Singapore Open, a score that could have been a lot better if not for a misbehaving putter. Watched by a big gallery, he missed a number of makeable birdie putts in a round that included three birdies and three bogeys.
Tanihara, joint sixth in last year’s competition, made a blistering start from the 10th with birdies at his first two holes. He dropped a shot at the first hole but then turned on the afterburners with four birdies in the final six holes, including three in a row from the sixth.
Kang was equally impressive in his bogey-free round. The multiple winner on the Korean Golf Tour kickstarted his round with an eagle at the par-five fourth before adding birdies at the sixth, 10th, 11th and 18th.
The 23-year-old Green added to his growing reputation with an assured round that included six birdies and a sole bogey during his penultimate hole, the eighth. Meanwhile, Han stormed up the leaderboard with an eagle at the par-five 18th. Like Kang, he was bogey free and fired birdies at the third, fourth and 11th.
Three-time winner Adam Scott of Australia and defending champion Young-han Song of Korea are among the afternoon starters.
