Rattanon Wannasrichan’s nickname is “Fluke” but there was certainly no element of luck in his nine-under-par 61 today at the SJM Macao Open.
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The outstanding opening round gave him a two-stroke lead over Australian Sam Brazel, who returned a 63 – who like the Thai leader eagled the par-five 18th.
Filipino Miguel Tabuena, Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun and Liu Yung-hua plus Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren, shot 64s, here at Macau Golf & Country Club, while Chinese-Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan and Gunn Charoenkul from Thailand are next best placed following 65s.
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Rattanon has been playing this event for 10 years but hasn’t come close to shooting such a low round here before.
He started on 10, making four birdies on the back nine, all four in-a-row from hole 13, and an eagle on 18, where he drained a 40-footer. Birdies on three, four and nine completed one of the finest rounds of his career.
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“It’s not my lowest as I have shot 10 under on the Asian Development Tour but it’s amazing,” said the 29-year-old, who tied for fourth in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the weekend for his best result of the season.
“I was just hoping to shoot a couple under today, didn’t expect to go so low. But I do like this course, there are a lot of chances to shoot birdies.”
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He is trying to win for the second time on the Asian Tour, having won the 2017 Thailand Open. He came close to a second title in 2022 when he was beaten by Korean Tom Kim at The Singapore International following a sudden-death play-off.
“It’s a great start but there is a lot of golf still to be played,” he added.
Defending champion Min Woo Lee has started slowly with a 68 – last year he fired rounds of 62, 64, 65 and 63.
