Sarit Suwannarut impressed and took the lead in the first day of the Mandiri Indonesia Open 2023 at Pondok Indah Golf Course, Jakarta, Thursday (3/8) by scoring 64 strokes, or 8 under par. He scored two eagles on the 6th and 18th, five birdies on the 1st, 4th, 5th, 14th, and 17th, and a bogey on the 8th.
Suwannarut is grateful to be able to make good putts so that he can take the lead on the first day of the tournament with a total prize of US$500,000. “It’s all because of the putting. My driver and iron are not working very well. There were two holes that became my turning point, the first by scoring an eagle on hole 6, and the biggest one on hole 9. My drive was not good on the first shot; it deviated to the right, while my approach failed to the left, so I had to make a putt as far as 25 feet. I think those were the moments that made me able to play like today,” said Suwannarut, who won last year’s Indonesian Masters.
The golfer from Thailand is one stroke ahead of Woohyun Kim (South Korea), Doyeob Mun (South Korea), and Scott Hend (Australia), who occupy the T2 position. Like Suwannarut, Kim also scored an eagle on the 18th hole.
Kim, who passed the Q-School Asian Tour in 2020, was satisfied with the results he achieved in the match on the first day. “This is a good start. I birdied the first hole and eagled the last. I thought my third shot on the 18th was a little too long, but it turned out to be a soft rebound and into the hole,” said Kim.
Four golfers followed in T9 position, with each scoring 66 strokes, or 6 under par. They are Ryo Hisatsune (Japan), Richard T. Lee (Canada), Chang Wei-lun (Taipei), and Nitithorn Thippong (Thailand).
Elki Kow and amateur golfer Gabriel Hansel Hari became the Indonesian golfers who scored the best results, namely making 67 strokes, or 5 under par. They occupy the T9 position along with two Thai golfers, Panuphol Pittayarat and Settee Prakongvech.
Today, overall, my game was pretty good. Even though there are many missed fairways, they are always in play. There are many opportunities to make birds. The challenge is the pin placement, which is too easy, and many are in the back corner,” said Elki, who scored a birdie in the hole.
4, 6, 11, and back-to-back at the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th holes. Unfortunately, he bogeyed the 7th and final holes. “Tomorrow I have to be more careful when making decisions. You have to consider the options. I am grateful to be able to play in this tournament. Today I played without any feeling of pressure and tried to play happy,” continued Elki.
Gabriel also felt quite satisfied with his performance today. The golfer, who is a student at the University of Oregon, is well acquainted with Pondok Indah Golf Course. Last month, he won the 2023 Amateur Golf Championship on the same course.
“I am quite familiar with this court; only the conditions at the Mandiri Indonesia Open 2023 are a little different from usual. Usually, the rough isn’t that thick, so you can’t miss the fairway. Besides that, the green is quite slippery. Tomorrow’s game plan will remain the same as today,” Gabriel explained.
The Indonesia Open tournament is an Indonesian tournament that has been held since 1974. However, until now, only one Indonesian golfer has ever won, namely Kasiadi in 1989.
Pondok Indah Golf is very experienced in hosting international tournaments. This field hosted the Indonesia Open in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. Last year was also the venue for the Simone Asia Pacific Cup, a professional ladies tournament. Apart from that, it also hosted the 2018 Asian Games and was the only one to have hosted the World Cup of Golf, namely in 1983.
