Aussie Keith Horne steals limelight from Spieth and Co
ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
Sentosa,
Singapore: South Africa’s Keith Horne upstaged the
tournament’s stars by firing an opening five-under-par 66 to grab the
clubhouse lead
at the US$1 million SMBC Singapore Open which was suspended due to
lightning threats on Thursday.
The
44-year-old, who is still searching for his maiden victory on the Asian
Tour, mixed his card with seven birdies and two bogeys to take a
one-shot advantage
over Korea’s Byeonghun An and world number one Jordan Spieth of the
United States after the duo returned with matching 67s.
American
Berry Henson, a one-time Asian Tour winner, was five-under through 17
holes while Thailand’s Namchok Tantipokhakul lurked closely behind at
four-under
after 14 holes before play was brought to a halt for the second time at
6.39pm (local time) because of lightning activities around the Serapong
course at Sentosa Golf Club.
A total of 57 players will resume their first round rounds at 7.30am with the second round scheduled to commence at 8.10am.
Horne narrowly kept his playing status on the Asian Tour by finishing in 59th place on the Order of Merit last season. However the South African’s
return to the Sentosa Golf Club has brought back the early cheers and sparkle to his game.
“I’m
really happy with my result today as I haven’t played here for a couple
of years. But whenever I do come over here, I generally play well,”
said Horne.
“So
it’s nice to renew my friendship with the golf course. I had a bit of a
walkabout in the middle of the round but then I also had a good run
coming in,” he added.
Horne
credited his driver and short game for putting him into an advantageous
position at the Singapore showpiece. He was also pleased to have
outshone the tournament’s
marquee names, almost half his age.
“I
think they (Spieth and An) were just born when I turned professional so
it’s always nice when you play well and get off to a great start. I
putted great today which
was important. I put a new driver in the bag today and I hit it so far
and straight and that made a huge difference,” said Horne.
Spieth
showed no signs of nerves despite playing at the Serapong course for
the first time. He enjoyed a bogey-free run, highlighted by an opening
20-footer birdie putt.
“My
speed control was great, with no three putts, I had a lot of putts over
30 feet today, I know I was not hitting it close enough but I managed
to hit the
fairway to a good number and get onto the greens where I just need to
two-putt. It was pretty stress free and but there were no real
opportunities,” said Spieth.
An,
voted Europe’s Rookie of the Year, braved the heat and humidity to put
up a strong performance that underscores his status as the world number
26.
“I
think it’s too hot. I wished it was cooler but you know, I cannot have
any complaints as there was no rain and the winds were fairly calm
today.
“I
definitely didn’t leave any putts out there that’s for sure. Putted
great and made all the putts I had to make. I didn’t really make any
stupid mistakes today with my
shots, so I was happy overall,” said An.
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 71. Yardage 7,398
66 - Keith HORNE (RSA).
67 - Byeonghun An (SKOR), Jordan SPIETH (USA).
68 - Hideto TANIHARA (JPN), Rahil GANGJEE (IND), Quincy QUEK (SIN), Paul PETERSON (USA).
69
- Prayad MARKSAENG (THA), Jinho CHOI (KOR), Scott STRANGE (AUS), Miguel
TABUENA (PHI), Javi COLOMO (ESP), Chapchai NIRAT (THA).
70
- Shiv KAPUR (IND), Yuta IKEDA (JPN), Niall TURNER (IRL), Akio SADAKATA
(JPN), Sanghyun PARK (SKOR), Y. E. YANG (KOR), Himmat RAI (IND).
71
- Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA), Yusaku MIYAZATO (JPN), S.S.P CHAWRASIA (IND),
LIANG Wen-chong (CHN), Jason KNUTZON (USA), Jbe KRUGER (RSA), LU
Wei-chih (TPE),
Gregory FOO (am, SIN), Brad KENNEDY (AUS).
Selected scores
74 - Darren CLARKE (NIR), Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA)
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
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