Natipong Srithong of Thailand plays a shot during the pro-am tournament ahead of the World Classic Championship at Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Singapore. The Asian Tour event will run from Nov 12-15. (AFP PHOTO/ASIAN TOUR/AREP KULAL) |
SINGAPORE: Australia's Sam Brazel and three other players shot a two under-par 69 to share the lead in the inaugural World Classic Championship in Singapore on Thursday (Nov 12) before fading light suspended the first round of play.
Play at the par-71 Laguna National Golf and Country Club will resume on Friday morning for 21 players who have not completed the first 18 holes.
Brazel went ahead after the first nine holes, but three bogeys in the second nine, including a double on the tricky 17th, whittled down his lead.
His dip allowed South Korea's Wang Jeung-Hun and Thailand's Natipong Srithong to level scores after the morning session. Another Australian, Scott Barr, joined the trio at the top just before play was suspended late afternoon.
"The greens are pretty tricky and you got to be smart," said Brazel. "I got away with a few and played nicely on other holes. It is not so much of a test off the tee but your second shot is definitely crucial. Putting is quite difficult as there's always a danger of hitting it to the wrong post."
Wang set out to make par at the Laguna National, the 17th stop of the Asian Tour, and said his four birdies on the first, eighth, 12th and 18th holes were a bonus.
"This is definitely one of the toughest courses in Asia and you really have to be very focused," said Wang. "When you make a mistake, you got to recover fast as the greens are hard to read."
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