Shahriffuddin Ariffin carded a battling opening round of two-underpar 68 to lead the Malaysian challenge at the SJM Macao Open. Ervin Chang was the next best-placed Malaysian after a first-round 69, while compatriot Galven Green shot 75 at the tight and testing Macau Golf & Country Club.
China’s Ding Wenyi and Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul both carded superb rounds of seven-under-par 63 to share the lead in the US$1 million Asian Tour showpiece. Shahriffuddin did well to recover from a double-bogey, bogey start off the 10th tee, picking up five birdies from there to lie in tied-29th position. “I had a bad start when I snap-hooked my drive into the hazard on the left. I took a drop and had to chip out, found the green with my fourth shot and two-putted for double. On my second hole, I was short of the green, duffed the chip and missed the par putt. So I told myself to just enjoy the game and not think too much – and I made birdie on the next hole,” said Shahriffuddin, who missed the halfway cut in the last two editions of the SJM Macao Open.
“I’ll just play hole by hole, take it one at a time, and try to minimise my mistakes. Overall, I’ve been happy with my game, and it’s been great to get some Asian Tour starts this year,” added the 26-yearold. Chang’s one-under-par 69 came from a similarly colourful scorecard that featured four birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. Like Shahriffuddin, Chang did not make it to the weekend in two previous SJM Macao Open starts.
“I started off really well with four birdies and one bogey, then had some trouble on the fifth hole when I made double after hitting my tee shot into the hazard on the right. But I stayed patient and didn’t make another bogey from there. I had a lot of birdie putts but most of them actually lipped out, which was a little bit frustrating. Overall, I’m just happy that I stayed patient and didn’t get too worked up,” noted Chang.
Former world number one Lee Westwood of England, winner of this event in 1999, shot an opening 74, while 2024 champion Rattanon Wannasrichan of Thailand opened his title defence with a solid 68. The tournament is jointly organized by the Sports Bureau of the Macao SAR Government (MSB), title sponsor SJM Resorts, S.A. (SJM) and IMG, and is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Macau Golf Association.
