(PGA TOUR) - Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat enjoyed the luck of the draw at a wind-swept Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Thursday (Oct 28), as he opened with a four-under 67 to share fourth place and lie two strokes off the lead on Thursday.
Fresh from a three-week break, the 32-year-old began his first round in the afternoon session with successive bogeys on holes 11 and 12 but bounced back strongly with six birdies, including on all three of the par-fives at Port Royal Golf Course.
Brandon Hagy and Chad Ramey share the lead after shooting 65s in the US$6.5 million (S$8.75 million) PGA Tour tournament which is offering the full 500 FedExCup points to the winner.
High winds of between 32kmh and 40kmh, and gusting up to 56kmh, made scoring especially difficult in the morning session, with play suspended around lunchtime for 15 minutes due to rain and winds. A total of 13 players will complete their first rounds on Friday morning.
The opening 67 is Kiradech's lowest round in the 2021-22 season following two missed cuts. A return to the famous holiday-isle destination brings back good memories for the four-time winner on the European Tour as he finished tied-11th here last season, which was his best result.
Under testing conditions, the Thai needed to scramble well after hitting just nine greens in regulation but made five of six sand saves as he got himself into contention for a first PGA Tour victory.
Other Asians in the field endured mixed fortunes, with Indian veteran Arjun Atwal returning a commendable 70 in the afternoon's play which featured four birdies against three bogeys. This week is his first Tour star since July's Barbasol Championship in Kentucky.
South Korea's Bae Sang-moon, a two-time Tour winner, carded a 71 while India's Anirban Lahiri, who played in the morning session, returned a 75.
Americans Hagy, 30, and 29-year-old Ramy gave themselves a great start in their bids for a maiden Tour title.
Hagy knew his afternoon's round would be a grind, after seeing some of the morning scores which featured very few under-par rounds.
"I think it laid down a little bit for us, but it was still pretty stout," he said. "But I hit a lot of good putts and they went in. I think there's going to be some times where you get gusts and the ball doesn't go in, but you kind of have to keep your head down and keep trying to hit some good shots."
