Mar15 tclclassic
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Chapchai Nirat of Thailand shot a course-record 61 Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the TCL Classic.
The 11-under 61 at the Yalong Bay Golf Club topped the previous record of 10-under 62 shot last year by two players: Liang Wengchong of China and American Edward Loar.
Argentine Rafael Echenique shot a 64 with three players a stroke back on 65 – Lu Wen-teh of Taiwan, New Zealand’s Richard Lee and Keith Horne of South Africa.
Five more players were another stroke back at 66, including European Ryder Cup player Lee Westwood.
Liang, who won his first major tournament last weekend at the Singapore Masters, opened with a 69. Liang defeated Malaysia’s Iain Steel on Sunday on the first playoff hole at the Singapore Masters, then promised to donate his winnings of $183,330 to help develop golf in China.
Nirat, 23, is looking for his first major victory and has never won on the Asian or European Tour. This event is sanctioned by both tours. The Thai made 11 birdies, and didn’t drop a shot.
“I changed putters for this tournament because I was struggling with my putting the last few weeks,” Nirat said. “I didn’t get too excited, I just kept thinking birdie, birdie, birdie.”
The TCL Classic on China’s southern Hainan Island in one of three in the next month being played in China. Shanghai is host to two tournaments in April – the Volvo China Open and the BMW Asian Open. All three are sanctioned by both the Asian and European tours.