2008 Asian Tour International - Round 1: Sattaya and Noh show big names the way

Local young gun Sattaya Supupramai fired an impressive eight-under-par 64 alongside Korean rookie Noh Seung-yul for the opening round lead at the Asian Tour International on Thursday.

Sattaya, 24, posted nine birdies against a lone dropped shot for the outright lead matched by the former Korean amateur number one who nailed two eagles at the Pattana Golf and Sports Resort.

Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang shot a 65 with a matching score by England’s Simon Griffiths who emulated his start from last week in a tie for third place. India’s Rahil Gangjee was pleased to be up in the mix in joint five place two strokes off the pace alongside Japan’s Mitsuhiro Tateyama and Welshman Craig Smith.

Malaysia’s Ben Leong, who will be riding on his success on the same venue at the 2006 Asian Tour Qualifying School, posted a 67 and was among those in a tie for eighth spot alongside Singapore’s Mardan Mamat and Englishman Yasin Ali.

But it was Sattaya who stole the limelight earlier in the day when he conquered the back nine with six birdies.

“I’m enjoying my game right now. I finished in the top-10 in a local tournament last week and I had a solid finish today with birdies on my last two holes so I’m very happy with my performance,” said Sattaya, who resides in the outskirts of Bangkok.

It was a welcome return to form for Sattaya who had missed the top-40 mark at the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage in December last year.

With the support of his caddie Silikon Aimsamaong, who was the former caddie of Thai stalwart Prayad Marksaeng, Sattaya is now relishing his chances of securing full playing rights on the Asian Tour this week.

“I missed the Qualifying School by three strokes and it was frustrating as I had struck bogeys in my last three holes. My mental game has been the letdown for me but I have learnt from that experience and it showed today. I can handle the pressure and I’m comfortable out on course compared to how it was before,” admitted Sattaya, who was part of the 2005 national team.

Sattaya was a football enthusiast before making a switch to golf at the age of 15. He turned professional in 2006 and chalked up one win on the local circuit last year.

With two eagles and four birdies, Korean youngster Noh enjoyed a bogey free round. The 2005 Korean amateur number one was unfazed by the array of Asian giants present at Chonburi having previously finished third at the 2006 Maekyung Open and a top-10 result at the Korean Open in the same year.

“It was down to my putting today which helped me produce a low score. But my dad has been great helping me read the greens and I’m pleased with the result,” said the 16-year-old talent, who eagled the par five second and 11th holes.

“The eagles were great as the ball landed around 15 feet away from the pin on both holes. I’m happy to be playing here and I hope to keep up my steady performance on the greens,” said Noh, who has the support of his caddie and father Noh Gu-huieun this week.

Starting on the back nine, Chinese Taipei’s Lin was eight under after 16 holes but struck a costly bogey on the seventh hole.

“After the Pro-Am yesterday, I told my brother (Lin Wen-hong) that if I putt well this week, I have a strong chance to win. Today’s effort was a reflection of that. I was accurate off the tee but my putting proved costly in the closing stages. I missed a three foot birdie opportunity at the seventh hole, it was frustrating but if I can improve my performance on the greens, then I will stay among the leaders,” said Lin, with two wins on the Asian Tour.

Thai stalwarts Thaworn Wiratchant shot a 71 in a tie for 56th spot while Thongchai Jaidee was even-par for the day in joint 82nd place.

Leading first round scores (click here for full leaderboard):

64 - Sattaya Supupramai (THA), Noh Seung-yul (KOR)
65 - Simon Griffiths (ENG), Lin Wen-tang (TPE)
66 - Craig Smith (WAL), Mitsuhiro Tateyama (JPN), Rahil Gangjee (IND)
67 - Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Pijit Petchkasem (THA), Han Lee (USA), Kim Young-jin (KOR), Ben Leong (MAS), Yasin Ali (ENG), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Tatsuya Sato (JPN)
68 - Will Yanagisawa (USA), David Bransdon (AUS), Mars Pucay (PHI), Amandeep Johl (IND), Gavin Flint (AUS), Yeh Chang-ting (TPE), Choengchai Panpumpo (THA), Somkiat Srisanga (THA), Gaurav Ghei (IND), Naoya Takemoto (JPN), Juvic Pagunsan (PHI), Michael Wright (AUS)
69 - Hiroshi Iwata (JPN), Neven Basic (AUS), S.Siva Chandran (MAS), Brad Kennedy (AUS), Jerome Delariarte (PHI), Scott Hend (AUS)

Other scores:

71 – Thaworn Wiratchant
72 – Thongchai Jaidee, Prom Meesawat.

March 20, 2008