George Gandranata, Chiangmai Golf Clasic  13-16 Nov 2014
Channel: Eddy Gandranata
Date: 18/11/2014

Chiangmai, Thailand, November 13: Indonesia’s George Gandranata and Sattaya Supupramai of Thailand eclipsed the Major champions at the Chiangmai Golf Classic presented by PTT after grabbing the opening round lead on six-under-par 66 on Thursday.

Gandranata and Sattaya emerged as the surprise front-runners amongst a host of stars including Jason Dufner of the United States, who was three shots off the pace at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

Singapore’s Mardan Mamat sank a huge 30-footer birdie on the last hole for a 67 to take solo third at the beautiful Alpine Golf Resort Chiangmai.

Rashid Khan, Jyoti Randhawa of India, Lu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei and EurAsia Cup star Nicholas Fung of Malaysia were amongst seven
George Gandranata of Indonesia

George Gandranata of Indonesia

players tied for fourth on 68. Title holder Scott Hend birdied the last hole to finish on 72 while 2011 Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa had a day to forget when he stumbled to a 77.

Sattaya brilliantly rolled in seven birdies including an easy five-foot birdie on 17 which he set-up following a superb chip from 90 yards. He is brimming with confidence after winning on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), which is the secondary circuit of the Asian Tour, last week.

“I’m playing with a lot of confidence. Playing on the ADT has helped with my confidence. We have a strong field here this week but I’m only focused on every shot and not the players who are here this week,” said the 30-year-old Sattaya.

Gandranata, also a regular on the ADT, tied for the lead after closing with a pair of birdies to enjoy a flying start in the event. He has never led in an Asian Tour tournament before.

“I’m happy to be in the lead for the first time in an Asian Tour event but there is still a long way to go. I feel like I haven’t done anything yet. There are still three more rounds to go. I have to focus on every shot and see how it goes,” said Gandranata, who won four titles on the local circuit this year.