Impressive Quincy two off the pace
Singaporean two shots off the lead after impressive 68
The hosts were well represented at the SMBC Singapore Open yesterday, with 12 golfers flying the flag, one of them especially high.
Quincy Quek ended the day within one stroke of world No. 1 Jordan Spieth, and only two off the leader, South Africa's Keith Horne.
American Berry Henson is also on five under, but he still has one hole left to play in the first round this morning, after inclement weather saw play suspended at 6.39pm yesterday.
Quek had a blemish-free round of three-under 68, which left him in joint-fourth spot and in contention at the end of Day One at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course.
"Any time you step off this golf course without making any bogeys, you got to be really happy with yourself," said the 28-year-old.
"Growing up, playing this course, you learn to be really patient. You have to plan every shot, so it's quite different compared to the other courses that we usually play on.
OPPORTUNITIES
"I hit it well from tee to green and gave myself lots of opportunities and sank some birdies to keep the round going."
Singapore's veteran duo Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing, in comparison, could not get going.
Indeed, they had rounds to forget.
Lam struggled all day, coming in with six bogeys, a double-bogey and without a single birdie.
Signing for an eight-over 79, he was tied for 150th along with local amateur Joshua Ho in the 156-strong field, the lowest-ranked Singaporeans.
The Republic's top-ranked golfer Mardan managed a 73, tied for 78th spot, alongside Koh Dengshan.
They were below only Quek and Gregory Foo (71, tied for 37th), with Jerome Ng (even par), and James Leow (+1) yet to finish their rounds.
But it could have turned out a lot worse for the 48-year-old Mardan.
He lost his ball with a wayward tee-shot on the third hole, registering a triple-bogey there, and holding up play for the two flights behind him, incuding Spieth's.
But the veteran managed to keep his head.
"I told myself after that, 'Let's try to get three birdies', and I managed to get two, so that's not too bad," he said, before explaining the disaster.
"Normally, the tee box is behind. They pushed it about 30 to 40 yards to the front, and I didn't practise (teeing off at that distance).
"To take out a driver was a bad decision, I pulled my shot to the left into the bushes, lost my ball there, and I got a seven," he shrugged.
While Mardan is in danger of missing the cut today, he refused to be dragged down by a bad showing at a single hole.
"I've played this game for many years, and it's not going to get me down too bad," he said.
"(Today's) another day of golf; hopefully I can hole some putts."
Fifty-seven players have yet to finish their round, and they will tee off at 7.30am today.
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