Home hero Hie battles into three-way tie at Bali Open
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Indonesian prospect Rory Hie grabbed a share of the first round lead at the Bali Open on Wednesday to raise his hopes for a top-three finish on the Asian Development Tour.
The talented 22-year-old sank four birdies against two bogeys at the New Kuta Golf Club to top the leaderboard with countryman Irmansyah and Tseng Hua-yen of Chinese Taipei.
Former Ryder Cup star Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden, playing on a sponsor's invite, Australia's Richard Moir, Indonesian Andik Mauludin and Thailand's Nakul Vichitryuthasastr are amongst those bunched on 71 in the final event of the year on the Asian Development Tour.
There is plenty at stake at the inaugural US$60,000 Bali Open as the top three finishers on the Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the elite Asian Tour next season.
Knowing that only a victory will see him break into the top three, Hie, currently ranked seventh, gave himself the best of starts to his Tour hopes with an all-round solid display.
"It was a good day. I hit the ball really good, especially with the irons. I made a couple of bogeys through some unforced errors but it's a tough course this week. My game is coming around and hopefully it'll keep going," said Hie.
"I think if I can pull off a win, I will have a good chance for the top-three position. That's the goal. I'll try to play the best that I can over the next few days but it could be a tougher course if the wind blows. It didn't blow today."
The 24-year-old Tseng shot five birdies on the card to raise his title hopes on the world renowned holiday isle. After representing Chinese Taipei's amateur team for five years, he joined the play-for-pay ranks last season.
"My putter worked really well. All my birdies were from around 10 feet and I managed to convert those opportunities. It's my first time leading a tournament and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week," said Tseng.
Lurking a stroke behind is five-time European Tour winner Sandelin, who is making his first visit to Bali. After missing out on the Barclays Singapore Open qualifying on Monday by two strokes, he opted to compete in the Bali Open although the tricky greens got the better of him today.
"I played pretty solid but I had a few three putts. It's tough for Europeans to play on grainy greens but I've been around for so long so I should know better," said Sandelin, who has won in Taipei previously.
"When I heard about the Bali Open, I decided to come over as I've heard that Bali is beautiful and luckily I got in. I'm happy to be here," he added.
The pressure to retain their second and third positions on the Order of Merit increased for Chinese Taipei's Hsu Chia-jen and Malaysia's Akhmal Tarmizee as they shot 77 and 75 respectively.
"I hit some poor shots and just struggled with my game," said the 20-year-old Akhmal. "I'm in the midst of changing my swing and it's taking time for me to get comfortable with it. Obviously, I hope to finish in the top three and will stick to my game plan," added the Malaysian.
Leading first round scores
70: Rory Hie (Ina), Irmansyah (Ina), Tseng Hua-yen (Tpe)
71: Takafumi Kawane (Jpn), Burhan Bora (Ina), Richard Moir (Aus), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Andik Mauludin (Ina), Nakul Vichitryuthasastr (Tha), Chang Tse-peng (Tpe)
72: Stephen Lindskog (Swe), Blair Wilson (Aus), Juvic Pagunsan (Phi), Hardjito (Ina), Justin Evans (Eng)
73: Lam Zhiqun (Sin – am), Jason King (Aus), Michael Bibat (Phi)
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