Suteepat Prateeptienchai issued an early warning at the Jakarta International Championship today after taking the first-round clubhouse lead with a seven-under-par 63.
In August he carded a 64 on the last day to win the Mandiri Indonesia Open and was once again in blistering form back on Indonesian soil today, making eight birdies and one bogey.
Australian Wade Ormsby, Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun and Roberto Lebrija from Mexico are tied for second following 64s, at Damai Indah Golf – PIK Course.
Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert moved to six under after 16 holes before the day drew to a close. Poor weather in the morning stopped play for an hour and 20 minutes, the end result meaning 117 players will need to finish their first round early tomorrow morning.
To make things even more challenging for the chasing pack, Suteepat admitted that everything was perfect today.
“Played really well today. Everything is perfect,“ said the 32-year-old. “I made a lot of putts. Not too long, longest was about seven yards.”
Having arrived here off the back of two excellent weeks in Chinese-Taipei – he finished joint seventh in the Yeangder TPC and then equal fourth at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, last week – Suteepat admits that his confidence is sky high: “After my win in August, I am much more confident. It was a big win for me, I feel more relaxed. I am just sticking to my plan. There’s no tiredness.”
Ormsby looked set to finish the day sharing the lead but dropped a shot on his last hole, which was the ninth as he started his round on the back nine.
He found the lake with his second and did well to make five.
He said: “It’s nice to be playing somewhat decent and to get off to a strong start today. I had a little blemish at the end, but I managed to get up and down from about 45 yards, which made things feel a lot better than they were looking.”
Lebrija is one of the surprise early pace-setters. The Mexican made it through the 2025 Qualifying School, taking the 12th card, but has been struggling for much of the season.
However, his fortunes have started to change since August – much of it here in Indonesia. He had two top-15 finishes on the Asian Development Tour, both in Indonesia, tied for 12th in the Mandiri Indonesia Open and was equal 34th in the Yeangder TPC in Taiwan.
Filipino Miguel Tabuena is in a group of players tied following 65s.
