SEA Games 31: Thai team sits atop the ranking after round 1 08:30, 13/05/2022

Weerawish Narkprachar scores bogey-free, leads round 1

Weerawish Narkpracha fired a sizzling round of four-under 68 on Friday. Golfer no.459 on the WAGR had an impressive start with consecutive birdies in the first 2 holes. He continued to shoot 6 par sequences, finishing the front-nine with a 2-under par. In the back-nine, the Thai golfer maintained a stable performance, had 2 more birdies on hole 11 and 17 to lead the tournament.

With only one shot back, Hiroshi Tai Hirahara finished the first round with a solo T-2. The Singaporean golfer scored 4 birdies and got bogey on the 14th hole, unfortunately for Hirahara when he couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to birdie on hole 18 after having a very good approach to the pin.

Thai golfer Pongsapak Laopakdee and representative of Indonesia - Amadeus Susanto Christian, tied for T-3 position with a total score of -2 

World No. 6 Amateur Golfer – Ratchanon Chantananuwat had a safe start with 71 strokes. The Thai golfer scored 4 birdies and caught 3 bogeys on the first day of competition to reach a total score of -1. Tied with Ratchanon Chantananuwat's position are Vietnam's No. 1 golfers - Nguyen Anh Minh and Ryan Ang from Singapore.

The Thai golf team went to the 31st SEA Games with the goal of winning all 4 gold medals, thereby reclaiming the No. 1 position in Southeast Asia from the Philippines. To accomplish this goal, they have brought to Vietnam their best amateur golfers. And on the first day of competition, the Thai team showed their top skills.

The Thai’s Women team started explosively 

Two Thai golfers Eila Galitsky and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap outclassed the rest as they shared the lead with the same -5 (67). Both scored 6 birdies and only got 1 bogey in this first round. This result gives the Thai team a huge advantage in the race to win the individual gold medal.

Galitsky and Vongtaveelap are both the most prominent faces in the Thai golf team, the two also regularly encounter and compete in domestic tournaments. Galitsky (2004) is the youngest athlete of the Thai delegation and is ranked 167 in the world, while Vongtaveelap is Thailand's No. 2 amateur golfer and also the No. 2 seed at this SEA Games.

Tied for third place are Hailey Loh Suanne (Singapore) and Jeneath Wong (Malaysia) with 1-under par. In particular, golfer born in 2004 Jeneath Wong is considered the number 1 seed of women's individual. In the first round, Wong had a bad start with 3 bogeys in the first 4 holes, but in the remaining holes she scored 4 birdies to finish the round with 71 strokes.

Vietnam’s Women team got off to a shaky start

In the women's contest, the best Vietnamese female golfer - Doan Xuan Khue Minh had a shaky start without a birdie in the first nine holes, then shot 1 double bogey and 5 bogeys. However, to the back-nine, the 2022 National Champion performed much better. She only had 1 bogey on hole 8, but scored 3 birdies with a perfect putt from nearly 20 feet away on hole 9, helping Khue Minh finish the open round with 78 (+6) strokes.

Le Thi Thanh Thuy also scored +6 strokes with 4 birdies, 5 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. Meanwhile, Pham Thi Yen Vi hit 81 strokes on the first day of the 31st SEA Games.

Vietnamese female golfers need to make a lot of effort on the second day of competition to be able to improve their overall ranking. After round 1, the position of the Vietnamese Women's team is ranked 6 out of 7 teams.

Nguyen Anh Minh affirmed the position of the No.1 golfer in Vietnam

Representative of Vietnam, Nguyen Anh Minh did not disappoint fans. Despite having to compete with one of Thailand's strongest golfers - Arsit Areephun, the golfer born in 2007 of Vietnam still competed with great confidence and bravery.

The 15-year-old golfer started the first round with 2 birdies in a row on holes 5 and 6. However, a tee shot that drove the ball into the bunker on the 7th par 3 hole made Nguyen Anh Minh hit his first bogey and finished the first 9 holes with 1-under par. In the back-nine, he still maintained a very stable performance. Despite having 2 bogeys on holes 10 and 14, 2 birdies on hole 11 and 18 helped Anh Minh complete the first round with a total score of -1. 

Anh Minh now placed in the top 10 after finishing the first 18 holes, just 3 strokes back from the top of the leaderboard.

Another member of the Vietnamese team in the top 10 after the first day of competition is Le Khanh Hung with an Even Par score, ranked at T8 along with Arsit Areephun (Thailand) and Naraajie Ramadhanputra Emerald (Indonesia).

Meanwhile, Nguyen Dang Minh and Nguyen Quang Tri have not yet caught up with the heat of the 31st SEA Games. Both finished round 1 with the same record of 78 strokes and ranked in joint 24th place.

Round 2 of the individual contest of golf at the 31st SEA Games will be held tomorrow (May 14). Golfers will definitely have to compete with their best to get an advantage before entering the final round of the tournament.