Oct 02, 2019: Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena and Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung shared more than just a room together, returning with matching five-under-par 67s to be tied for the first round lead together with South Africa’s Keith Horne at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on Thursday.
India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu signed for a 68 to trail the trio by a single shot in outright fourth place while Thailand’s Danthai Boonma is tied for fifth with Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-lun and Lin Yung-lung.
Ajeetesh shot five back to back birdies from 13th to 17th hole in the back nine with a lone bogey at 10th hole to finish with four-under-par 68 in the opening round. Chikkarangappa S also placed inside top ten at T8 after carding two-under-par-70.
Just one shot behind Chikka, Aman Raj and Khalin Joshi carded similar one-under-71 to settle at T17. Other Indians in the filed Rashid Khan, Viraj Madappa, Chiragh Kumar, and Abhijit Chadha shot even-par round and lying at T30.
Tabeuna, a two-time Asian Tour winner, enjoyed a bogey-free round while Fung almost matched his roommate’s flawless efforts until a wayward shot at his closing ninth hole saw him drop his only shot of the day which denied him the outright lead in the morning.
Tabuena has enjoyed a proud record at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club, finishing second in 2016 and is pleased to have rediscovered his form which has seen him pass his opening test with flying colours.
Fung also had a round to remember as he returned with his best showing by far at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.
Horne, who finished tied-second at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in 2017, has yet to win on the Asian Tour but showed he is ready to contend at a venue which he knows he can excel.
Did you Know?
- Ajeetesh Sandhu is a one-time winner on the Asian Tour. A week after claiming his first Asian Tour title in Chinese Taipei in 2017, Sandhu went on to win the Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament on the Japan Challenge Tour.
- The Indian notched three top-10 finishes in 2018 to finish in 28th position on the Order of Merit.
- Sandhu’s second-place finish at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open in Bangladesh is his best result so far this season.
Asian Tour Release
