Arnond Vongvanij in action in the second round. Picture by Asian Tour.
Cha Am, Thailand (January 19): Arnond Vongvanij rose from his sick bed to fire a superb eight-under-par 64 and tie for the second round lead at the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final Stage on Thursday. The young Thai was still feeling the effects of food poisoning he suffered on Tuesday but recovered in time to share the lead with Englishman Guy Woodman on 11-under-par 133.
Overnight leader Yosuke Tsukada of Japan was a further shot back after shooting a 71 while Hamza Amin of Austria, Japanese Sushi Ishigaki and Martin Rominger of Switzerland, who shot a 63, were tied in fourth place on 135. The top-40 and ties at the end of the week will earn playing rights for the 2012 Asian Tour season.
Starting from the 10th tee, Arnond, a graduate from the University of Florida, turned in a blistering seven-under 29 to tie for the second lowest front nine score in Asian Tour history. “I hit the ball and putted really well and that’s a good combination. I suffered from food poisoning a few days back. Luckily I had a late tee-off on Wednesday so I slept a lot. It was still a grind and I was drinking lots of fluids out there to stay healthy,” said the 23-year-old, who played at Springfield Royal.
Arnond, whose parents are Thai, was born in Hawaii but grew up in Thailand before moving to Florida to play golf at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy. He credited the influence of three-time Order of Merit champion Thongchai Jaidee for his decision to play in the Qualifying School.
“As I was growing up, Thongchai helped me a little bit so I might as well try and follow in his footsteps. He is a world-class player and everyone in Thailand is a fan of him. Everyone loves him in Thailand. It would be a great honour if I could be like him,” said Arnond, who had Thongchai’s former caddie Surawut Wannapintu on his bag.
Last year’s Walker Cup star James Bryne of Scotland posted a 69, highlighted by an eagle-three on the fifth hole when his eight-iron approach shot landed four feet from the hole. Bryne, whose mother is Singaporean, said the humidity will play an important factor in the next two days. “Asia is definitely different for me. I’m not used to playing in heat like this. You drink a lot more water, eat well and make sure your diet is good to cope with the heat because you are sweating so much during your round,” said the 23-year-old, currently in tied ninth position.
Former Asian Tour winner Kane Webber, who is among 24 Australian players this week, hopes to make a return to Asia after losing his Tour card two years ago. He shot a 71 for 141 to lie in tied 39th position. “It has been nearly six years since I won! But you have to stay confident and think well. It can be easy on this golf course if you play well but it can also jump up and catch you,” said the 2006 Macau Open champion.
“I tried to play a lot of tournaments in 2009 across Asia and Europe. Now, sitting back and thinking about it, I should have pretty much stopped golf when the summer hit and started the Asian Tour for the rest of the year. That’s a very big learning experience and hopefully if I’m in the same position again, I’ll never do it again,” said Webber.
Kenneth De Silva of Malaysia battled to a 66 to sit in tied 20th position but his route to the Final Stage did not come easy when he took a wrong flight to Hatyai instead of Hua Hin. “That was a bit of a rookie mistake but I was lucky I landed in Hatyai on Sunday and had time to make my way to Hua Hin on Monday. I guess I’ll need to make better travel arrangements next time! But I’m happy I’m here and I really hope I can earn my card. I know it won’t be easy but I’ll try my best,” said De Silva, who turned professional last week.
The Final Stage, presented by Sports Authority of Thailand, is being played over two courses – the Jack Nicklaus-designed Springfield Royal Country Club and Imperial Lakeview Golf Club. Players have played on alternate courses for the first two rounds with the final two rounds at Springfield Royal. The half-way cut was set at even-par-144 with a total of 109 players making the last two rounds.
LEADING SECOND-ROUND SCORES
133 – Guy WOODMAN (ENG) 64-69, Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 69-64; 134 – Yosuke TSUKADA (JPN) 63-71; 135 – Hamza AMIN (AUT) 69-66, Sushi ISHIGAKI (JPN) 66-69, Martin ROMINGER (SUI) 72-63; 136 – Ryuichi TAYASU (JPN) 69-67, Dodge KEMMER (USA) 66-70; 137 – Masanori KOBAYASHI (JPN) 70-67, David LIPSKY (USA) 72-65, James BYRNE (SCO) 68-69, Javi COLOMO (ESP) 65-72, Yusaku MIYAZATO (JPN) 68-69, HUR In-hoi (KOR) 67-70, Dale MARMION (ENG) 70-67; 138 – HONG Soon-sang (KOR) 70-68, Pawin INGKHAPRADIT (THA) 71-67, Joon H. LEE (KOR) 67-71, Nico BOLLINI (USA) 67-71; 139 – Hirohito KOIZUMI (JPN) 71-68, Kodai ICHIHARA (JPN) 71-68, Kenneth DE SILVA (MAS) 73-66, Mikael SALMINEN (FIN) 67-72, Gabriel CANIZARES (ESP) 67-72, KIM Gi-whan (KOR) 68-71, Kunal BHASIN (AUS) 69-70, Carl Santos OCAMPO (PHI) 69-70
