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New dad Hung shows maturity, takes lead in Singapore
Hung Chien-yao (Courtesy of Asian Tour)Enjoying his new role as a father, Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao has started the 2019 SMBC Singapore Open tournament strong
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Hung Chien-yao (Courtesy of Asian Tour)
Enjoying his new role as a father, Taiwan’s Hung Chien-yao has started the 2019 SMBC Singapore Open tournament strong.
Hung led the clubhouse in the opening round, shooting five-under-par 66 in the US$1 million tournament held at the Serapong Course of the Sentosa Golf Course on Thursday.
The world number 597 Hung scored 66 by creating four birdies and one stunning eagle on hole 4. In the first nine holes, he scored 34, and in the last nine, the 26-year-old stayed hot, scoring 32. His clean play was marred only by one bogey on the third hole.
Commenting on his result, Hung said he enjoyed the course and did not think too much about the result.
“I guess my mind-set has changed quite a bit from last year, with the responsibilities I have now,” he said, referring to his new status as the father of a daughter.
“I couldn’t quite get used to it last year, but coming to the first event of the season this week, I told myself to just come here and enjoy myself.”
The Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena ended in second place on the current leaderboard, with only a one-shot deficit against Hung.
Bogeys were the story of day one for most of the golfers. Of the 10 golfers who dominated the leaderboard until the game’s suspension in the afternoon, only Britain’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, who made his Singapore debut this year, finished all 18 holes without a single bogey.
Fitzpatrick, the world number 40, scored three-under-par 68 during Thursday’s competition, which was suspended at around 2 p.m. local time because of a thunderstorm.
The tournament succeeded in attracting prominent names, including World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III of the United States, who made his debut at the Singapore Open with his son Davis Love IV, who goes by Dru.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who lifted the trophy last year, also returned to the event, which is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organization. Garcia finished the first round by carding two-under-par 69.
When the organizers resumed play at 5:30 p.m. local time, the likes of South African Justin Harding, who made his Asian Tour debut last year, and 2018 Indonesian Masters winner Poom Saksansin of Thailand continued their play on the course on a cloudy and windy afternoon.
Meanwhile, the only Indonesian representative in the tournament, Danny Masrin, had to be satisfied with three-over-par 74 as a result of creating six bogeys over the 18 holes.
