BANGKOK, Thailand: American Johannes Veerman produced the fireworks with a magnificent eight-under-par 62 to lead by three shots at the Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Veerman, who was crowned the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit champion in 2016, rode on a hot putter at the US$500,000 event to put up a near-perfect round which included one eagle and seven birdies against a lone bogey at the highly-rated Legacy Golf Club.
Starting from the 10th hole, Veerman took advantage of the calm morning conditions to nail a pair of birdies on 12th and 13th before pulling away with five straight birdies from the 15th hole. He dropped a shot for his only blemish on his card on the par-three fifth but would bounce back swiftly with an eagle-three on the next after sinking a 20-footer.
Defending champion Jazz Janewattananond also got off to a brilliant start with a 65 highlighted by an eagle on hole 15 after sticking his approach to three-feet.
The Thai took a share of second place with compatriots Thaworn Wiratchant and Kosuke Hamamoto, as well as Miguel Tabuena of Philippines.
Thai prodigy Phachara Khongwatmai, placed 54th on the Habitat for Humanity Standings and among those fighting to keep their cards for 2019, is among the seven players bunched in tied-sixth following matching 66s, just four shots off the pace.
The Queen’s Cup, held in honour of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, is celebrating its 11th edition this week with Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee being the tournament host.
Did you know?
– Johannes Veerman is chasing his breakthrough victory on the Asian Tour with his father on his bag this week.
– Veerman missed only three fairways and needed only 24 putts around the greens for his commendable round of 62, which marks his lowest round this year.
– The American finished tied-10th at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak held in July which sparked the first of four consecutive top-10 finishes he recorded this season.
– Kosuke Hamamoto is playing in his first Asian Tour event as a professional this week. He joined the play-for-pay ranks in September this year.
– Kosuke is born to a Japanese father and a Thai mother. His family is based in Thailand and he travels to Japan once a year to celebrate the new year.
– Thaworn Wiratchant is one of Thailand’s most decorated stars with 18 Asian Tour wins under his belt and two Order of Merit crowns.
– He is aiming to become the first Thai to win the prestigious trophy three times after winning the showpiece in 2012 and 2014.
– Jazz Janewattananond secured his second Asian Tour title in July at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak in July when he birdied five of his closing nine holes.
– The Thai, who made his Major debut earlier this year at The Open Championship, has recorded five top-10 finishes this season, including a runner-up result at the Sarawak Championship in July.
– Miguel Tabuena claimed his first Asian Tour win at the Philippine Open presented by ICTSI in 2015.
– He did not miss a single green thanks to his solid ball-striking and only missed one fairway in his opening round.
