MICHAEL HOEY'S COURSE-RECORD 64 LEADS 

THAILAND CLASSIC - BUT ONLY BY ONE SHOT

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Ulsterman Michael Hoey shot a flawless course record eight under par 64 to set the pace in the first round of the inaugural True Thailand Classic presented by Black Mountain.

The five-time European Tour winner, pictured, leads by one stroke from American David Lipsky, who won last year’s Omega European Masters, and Asian Tour players Chien-yao Hung of Chinese Taipei and Spaniard Carlos Pigem.
India’s Shiv Kapur celebrated his 33rd birthday with a 66 to sit two shots back in fifth place, while Spanish legend Miguel Angel Jiménez had an eagle two in his round of 67, holing out from the fairway with a seven iron. He is joined by seven other players on five under par at Black Mountain Golf Club, near the coastal town of Hua Hin.

Quotes:

Michael Hoey
“I’m very happy with that. I know the course is scoreable because there’s not a lot of rough, but the wind picks up and the last few holes were tricky today. We probably had ten or 11 holes with no much wind, which was the advantage of teeing off early. It has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. I was talking to my coaches recently about throwing in double bogeys too often, so to be bogey-free and have no fives on the card and a course record is a nice start. I putted well and it suits me that if you have a bit of length off the tee, you can cut a few corners and reach the par fives in two.”

Shiv Kapur
“It’s a nice present. You wake up in the morning hoping for a good day and I couldn’t have asked for a better result. It all comes down to holing a few putts and early on I managed to do that, which set the tone for the rest of the day. I also put a new driver in the bag this week and it seems to be working. It has put a little bit more length as I’m getting onto all the par fives, which I don’t remember doing here in the past. That made the difference.”

Miguel Angel Jiménez
“The course is not particularly difficult from the tee because there’s not much rough, but you need to be very precise with your approach shots. The greens are big with a lot of movement and very fast. If you’re in the wrong place on the green you are finished. I’m feeling very sick. I have a cold and my sinuses hurt. Sometimes I hit a poor shot because I can hardly move the club. I started feeling ill yesterday. Hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow.”

ALL THE FIRST-ROUND SCORES
64 M Hoey  (NIr)
65 D Lipsky (USA) , C Pigem (Esp) , H Chien-Yao (Tpe) ,
66 S Kapur (Ind)
67 P Marksaeng (Tha) , R Paratore (Ita) , P Junhasavasdikul (Tha) , M Jiménez (Esp) , A Noren  (Swe) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) , M Ford (Eng) , S Hend (Aus)
68 J Wang (SKor) , R Lee (Can) , R Wannasrichan (Tha) , M Kawamura (Jpn) , P Peterson (USA) , T Khrongpha (Tha) ,
69 L Weber (Fra), C Lloyd (Eng) , A Otaegui  (Esp) , K Pratt (Aus) , S Brazel (Aus) , J Edfors (Swe) , M Warren (Sco) , P Uihlein  (USA) , B Rumford (Aus) , J Carlsson (Swe) , M Baldwin (Eng) , T Lewis (Eng) , T Bjørn (Den) , S Rahman (Ban) , T Pilkadaris (Aus) , M Fraser (Aus) , J Kruger (RSA) , T Jaidee (Tha) , A Lahiri (Ind) , G Havret  (Fra)
70 M Mamat (Sin) , J Quesne  (Fra) , K Broberg (Swe) , F Aguilar (Chi) , R Wattel  (Fra) , K Oda (Jpn) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , H Otto (RSA) , S Lewton (Eng) , E Grillo (Arg) , P Maddy (Eng) , A Pavan (Ita) , M Perera (Sri) , B Henson (USA) , P Naewsuk (Tha) 
71 A Da Silva (Bra) , J Randhawa (Ind) , N Holman  (Aus) , C Plaphol (Tha) , F Zanotti (Par) , C Nirat (Tha), B Easton (RSA) , M Carlsson  (Swe) , G Charoenkul (Tha) , M Crespi  (Ita) , D Chia (Mas) , U Park (Aus) , A Hansen (Den) , R Green (Aus) , P Tangkamolprasert (Tha) , S Chawrasia (Ind) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , J Parry (Eng) , A Dodt (Aus)
72 M Lampert (Ger) , J Barnes (Eng) , L Wen-Chong (Chn) , A Wall (Eng) , S Supupramai (Tha) , J Knutzon (USA) , A Que (Phi) , W Ormsby (Aus) , L Wei-Chih (Tpe) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , A Vongvanij (Tha) , N Tantipokhakul (Tha) , R Karlberg  (Swe) , E De La Riva  (Esp) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) , J Pagunsan (Phi) 
73 S Barr (Aus), M Tullo (Chi) , A Groom (Aus) , J Campillo (Esp) , T Chuayprakong (Tha) , M Kieffer (Ger) , J Lando Casanova  (Fra) , M Korhonen (Fin) , N Fung (Mas) , J Perttila (Fin) , S Baek (SKor) , J Singh (Ind) , T Wiratchant (Tha) , A Atwal (Ind) , M Both (Aus) , S Dyson  (Eng) , K Richardson (Aus) , A Lascuna (Phi) , S Pongpaew (Tha) , P Supupramai (Tha) , I Buranatanyarat (Tha) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , P Meesawat (Tha)
74 R Gangjee (Ind) , S Kang (SKor) , R Khan  (Ind) , O Farr (Wal) , R Finch  (Eng) , S Prakongvech (Tha) , C Phadungsil  (Tha) , J Colomo  (Esp) , J Higginbottom (Aus) , G Bhullar (Ind) , N Thippong (Tha) , P Khongwatmai (Tha) , M Foster (Eng) , D McGrane (Irl)
75 P Sonthirati (Tha) , P Pittayarat (Tha) , P Saksansin (Tha) , U Duangdecha (Tha) , J Premsirigorn (Tha), M Tabuena (Phi) , D Drysdale (Sco) , K Tannin (Tha) , S Kooratanapisan (Tha) , P Swangarunporn (Tha)
76 A Johnston (Eng) , J Janewattananond (Tha) , C Doak (Sco) ,
77 M Nixon (Eng) , P Rachataporn (Tha) , M Lundberg (Swe) , S Rattanakamphol (Tha) , J Lagergren (Swe)
78 S Khan (Eng) , R Rock (Eng) 
79 T Poipong (Tha)
83 S Hansapiban (Tha) 
84 P Pinprayong (Tha) 
** P Waring  (Eng)

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