'Slow one' takes a giant stride
Thitiphun Chuayprakong is known among his close friends and associates as 'tote'. The Thai term roughly translates into English as 'the slow one' -- understandably attributed to him for his short stature and gentle gait.
But contrary to his nickname and his reputation, the young Thai golfer took a giant stride at the Kurmitola Golf Club (KGC) on Friday as the 23-year-old racked up a mindboggling 17-under-par (196) at the end of the third round of the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open, and stands on the verge of breaking the course record as well as ending his title-drought.
The reported course record here is 19-under (For 72-par events), and by the look of things, Thitiphun -- who racked up 65, 66, and 65 in the first three rounds -- should be ambling past that score unless he buckles under the expectation of winning his first-ever Asian Tour today.
But given the ease with which Thitiphun has bagged birdies over the first three days -- he has already racked up 18 birdies and two eagles against only three bogeys and a double bogey -- he will have written his name in KGC's history and find himself approximately 54,000-dollars richer. That would be quite a big deal for the young Thai golfer, whose earnings from the entire 2015 Asian Tour season were less than 50,000 dollars.
Thitiphun was understandably very excited to find himself in this position, but was keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
"I'm feeling very good and very excited. My long game and putting, both were very good today. I tried to make lot of birdies, but was unlucky with the back nine. However, six-under is a good score and I'm looking forward to tomorrow," said Thitiphun, whose best result on the tour so far was a second-place finish at the 2012 Thai Golf Championship, where he scored his career best 14-under-par.
The Bangkok resident, who enjoyed a magnificent birdie spree on the front nine, carding five birdies and an eagle on the trot, said that despite feeling some pressure of being so close to winning the title, he was determined to remain consistent till the last day.
"I know there are good players here and there is a bit of pressure on me, but I think I can control it. Hopefully, I will play a little bit of a safe game tomorrow and then decide my strategy over the last three holes," Thitiphun added.
Thitiphun will need to be on guard though as there are quite a few golfers, more experienced ones, who are making a charge for the title. His compatriot Sutijet Kooratanapisan and India's rising star Chikkarangappa matched him with 65s and are three strokes behind, while India's five-time Asian Tour champion Gaganjeet Bhullar was a further shot off the pace.
Meanwhile, the local hopes rested with Shkhawat Hossain Sohel, Jamal Hossain Mollah and Abdul Matin, all three of whom ended the day with under-par third round scores. Jamal returned a card of three-under-par (68); Sohel settled for two-under-par (69) and Matin managed a one-under-par (70) on the day.
Jamal, who carded four birdies against one bogey yesterday, felt his putting let him down slightly while Sohel, who had an eventful day with seven birdies and five bogeys, said he was looking forward to a more consistent round on Saturday. Matin, meanwhile, overcame a torrid start to finish the day strongly with five birdies against two bogeys and a double bogey.
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