Young guns fire back
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Noh Seung-yul of Korea and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, two young guns on the Asian Tour, finally hit their stride at the CIMB Asia Pacific, Malaysia on Saturday.
The burly Kiradech, known for his grip-it and rip-it style of attacking play, bounced back with a superb seven-under-par 64, the lowest of the day, for a nine-under-par 204 total to lie in tied 15th place while Noh, currently leading the Asian Tour Order of Merit, was a shot back after a flawless 65 at The Mines Resort and Golf Club.
Singaporean Mardan Mamat, whose 65 puts him in tied third place, led the Asian Tour charge alongside Siddikur (65) of Bangladesh as they trail tournament leader Ben Crane of the United States by four and five strokes respectively at the US$6 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGA Tour.
Joint overnight leader Pariya Junhasavasdikul of Thailand, who won the Mercuries Taiwan Masters earlier this month for his first career victory, slipped back to tied eighth place following a 71, five off the pace.
Kiradech renewed his love affair in Malaysia when he turned in a sparkling 29 before dropping two shots on holes 10 and 13. He sparked a late fightback with three birdies over his closing four holes.
He credited his solid round to an early eagle on the third hole where he sank a massive 20 feet putt and admitted to feeling more comfortable on the challenging Mines Resort compared to the first two rounds.
“I was a little bit excited on the first two days because I was playing in a big event. To be honest, I was quite nervous and I felt like I didn’t stick to my game plan,” said the former world junior champion.
He was delighted to return to Malaysia where he finished tied third in the Malaysian Open in March, after leading into the final round, and placed fifth at the Iskandar Johor Open earlier this month. He hopes to finish in the top-10 on Sunday.
“I’m always happy to play in Malaysia. I play well here and have a lot of friends and fans. This week, my family and coach (Lervit Bulsombut) are also here to support me. They give me a lot of confidence and I hope to accomplish my goal,” said Kiradech.
Noh, winner of the Malaysian Open, credited his bogey free round to strong iron play where he sank all six birdies from within the region of five feet.
“I was hitting it better and found at least 15 or 16 greens today. I was actually playing quite well in the first two rounds but I made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t make any silly mistakes today and that has given me more confidence to shoot a low number,” said Noh.
Pariya, a graduate from Purdue University in the United States and a licensed pilot, struggled to take off when he turned in 36 but recovered with two birdies in his last four holes.
“I don’t know how to sum up my round. I’m still shaking from seeing such a big crowd out there. The crowds have been great and Ben Crane’s caddy told me that he has been on his bag for one and a half years and haven’t seen a crowd this great before,” said Pariya.
“It was a great feeling. The crowd took out a lot of pressure from me today. Everywhere I walked they supported me and cheered, “Pariya keep going” and it feels great. The experience I got today counted more than my score,” he added.
The title sponsor of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia is CIMB Group. CIMB Group is one of Southeast Asia’s leading universal banking franchises. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with key offices across South East Asia, CIMB Group offers a full suite of financial services and related products. Read more about CIMB Group at www.cimb.com.
For further information, please call the Asian Tour’s Doyle De Costa and Chuah Choo Chiang at the media centre tel: +6012 265 4700. Also visit www.asiantour.com
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