Manila: Sarit Suwannarut carried his recent run of good form into the US$2 million International Series Philippines, claiming a one-shot lead after the opening round on Thursday.
The Thai star made one bogey in his round, but nine birdies gave him a card of eight-under-par 64, one better than another in-form player, Japan’s Kazuki Higa, a two-time champion already this season at the Shinhan Donghae Open and the Yeangder TPC.
Conditions were ripe for scoring at the par-72 Sta Elena Golf Club, and players made the most of it.
England’s LIV Golf star Richard Bland made a bogey on the ninth hole — his last — and was tied for third at 66 alongside Americans Charles Porter and George Kneiser and Thai veteran Chapchai Nirat.
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar shared seventh place with six other players, including former world No.1 and two-time major champion Dustin Johnson of the United States, at 67.
Johnson, the 2016 US Open winner and 2020 Masters champion, was in a marquee group along with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and local hero Miguel Tabuena.
Thai duo Suteepat Prateeptienchai and Jazz Janewattananond, who both shot 68, were in a group of nine players tied for 14th.
Sarit — fourth in Macao Open, tied 11th in the Jakarta International Championship and tied ninth in Taiwan Masters in his previous three starts on the Asian Tour — started on the back nine and made four birdies on his way out, adding five more on his back nine.
“It was perfect. I’ve been playing pretty good. I mean, before a round, I know I can share the yardage with my caddie and hit the shots. I tell myself, you can hit it, you can do it,” said Sarit.
“I’d say a couple of things have happened. I changed the putter in Korea and it started working pretty good, and then I also changed my coach. I have been working on my swing, and the changes are becoming pretty good.”
A two-time winner of International Series titles, Sarit knows a thing or two about winning on the big stage.
“I just want to play good golf. I am excited to play with a lot of good players like Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, and a lot of the guys from LIV Golf. So, just excited to play well,” said Sarit, who is currently ranked 25th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 52nd in The International Series Ranking.
Higa was bogey-free for his round and said the key was to hit fairways with his tee shots, so that he could take advantage of the preferred lies in play.
“A round of seven-under was a little better than what we planned to achieve when I set out in the morning. If I look back at the round, I think we could have made two or three more putts,” said the unassuming Japanese star.
“Today, I played with Kevin Na and Sam Horsfield and it was a good pairing. However, I know that to step up to the challenge of players like Dustin and Patrick Reed, I need to continue making good scores. I just need to keep going.”
The International Series Philippines is the sixth leg of the elevated International series events on the Asian Tour.