Daily Times

LAHORE: At the end of the first day of the Asian Development Tour Golf Championship at Defence Raya Club Golf Course here Thursday, Poosit Supupramai of Thailand fired a flawless seven-under-par 65 to emerge as the leader. The opening day was slightly marred by poor visibility, attributable totally to the smog factor. As a result, 54 out of 102 competitors could not complete their first round and will finish it early on Friday (today) while other participating competitors, who had completed the first round on the first, will tee off later to splash the golf course with excellence.

Masaru Takahashi of Japan, ranked second on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit, returned with a 67 to trail by two shots while Panuwat Muenlek of Thailand and Muhammad Asif of Pakistan were a further shot back in the $120,000 event. For Pakistan, the most heartening news was the performance of Asif, who is a professional at the Defence Raya Club and plays his golf here. During the course of the first round Asif pleased so many of his fans and students at Defence Raya by coming up with a score that can be categorized as superb.

His shot making was copybook and the rhythm and flair visible in his hitting. All through the eighteen holes he remained calm and composed and not once did he stray from the fairways. This optimistic start was a dream for this upcoming golf professional and he looked determined to stay on course to an amazing performance.

Poosit, who is searching for a first ADT victory, was delighted that he accepted the invitation to come to Pakistan and play at the exquisite Defence Raya Golf Course. He was forthright in admitting that: “before coming here, I felt scared but when I arrived, the people here are so friendly and great. I wanted to play in a different country and experience new culture and adventure. I’m happy I decided to come.”

Takahashi, a three-time ADT winner, continued his fine form by shooting six birdies against one bogey. He is hoping for a solid result this week which will cement his position inside the top-five on the Order of Merit. The leading five players at the end of the season will earn an Asian Tour card for next year. “Overall my game is okay. I did what I’m supposed to do, find fairways and greens. I’m playing with a lot of confidence and I didn’t feel nervous. My target this week is to reach 20-under so if I continue playing like how I did, I think I can reach my target,” said Takahashi.

Another Pakistani who showed champion like confidence and courage was Muhammad Imran. For him the first day brought glad tidings as he managed a great showing and his round of three under par 69, reflected on his ability and command in this international event. His shot making was perfect and so was his putting on the fast greens. More Pakistanis who were looking good in this championship were Adil Jehangir, Shahid Javed Khan, Daanyaal Jehangir and Muhammad Nazir.

Leading round one results:

65 – Poosit Supupramai (THA)

67 – Masaru Takahashi (JPN)

68 – Panuwat Muenlek (THA), Muhammad Asif (PAK)

69 – Muhammad Imran (PAK), Donlaphatchai Niyomchon (THA)

70 – Kazuma Shimaya (JPN), Wisut Artjanawat (THA), Nisar Hussain (PAK)

71 – Aadil Jehangir (PAK)

72 – Pannakorn Uthaipas (THA), Martin Dive (AUS), John Catlin (USA), Shafiq Masih (PAK)

73 – Shahid Javed Khan (PAK), Danyaal Jehangir (PAK), Sam Cyr (USA), Muhammad Nazir (PAK)

74 – Ahmad Baig (A) (PAK), Waheed Baloch (PAK)

75 – Muhammad AMIR (PAK), Wang Wei-lun (TWN), Adrian Halimi (INA), Muhammad Khalid (PAK), Akber Mehroz (PAK), Khawaja Ahsen (PAK)

Published in Daily Times, November 3^rd 2017.