VETERAN Korean Kyungnam Kang and Indian Ajeetesh Sandhu’s bids to secure coveted Asian Tour cards for next year started perfectly today when they took a share of the first-round lead in the Final Stage of the Qualifying School.
They fired outstanding eight-under-par 63s on the A and B nines at Lake View Resort and Golf Club, ahead of Filipino Sean Ramos, who returned a 64.
Argentina’s Miguel Carballo, Korean Doyeob Mun, Niklas Regner from Austria, Flint Bekkers from the United States and Australian Jack Thompson, are next best following 65s. Regner, who has spent the last three years on Europe’s Challenge Tour, was the only one to record his 65 on the C & D nines.
Four more rounds remain before the top 35 win their tour cards, with a cut made after tomorrow’s round and also after the fourth round on Friday.
Kang is in pole position thanks to an eagle on the par-four 18th, where he sensationally holed his second, and six birdies – including one on 17 and three in succession from the fifth.
“Everything felt good,” he said. “All parts of my game worked together. And I got a bit lucky on the last.”
The 41-year-old has been a professional for 20 years and spent most of that time playing on his home tour, where he won on 11 occasions, while he also had a spell on the Japan Golf Tour from 2016 to 2019.
He added: “The Asian Tour is doing so well; I thought it was time to get my card.”
That decision is partly due to the fact he has been in fine form in 2024. He was in contention in all three of the Asian Tour events staged in Korea this year: the GS Caltex Maekyung Open, where tied for ninth, the Kolon Korea Open, where he was joint third, and the Shinhan Donghae Open – where he finished joint 13th. A second-place finish in the Kolon Korea Open last year remains his best finish on the Asian Tour.
Sandhu comes into the week hot having won the Vishwa Samudra Open 2024 presented by Kapil Dev last week on India’s professional circuit – his fifth win on that Tour.
He had a disappointing year finishing 82nd on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with the top 65 retaining playing rights.
The 38-year-old looks like he is on a mission to bounce back from that this week. He made a brilliant start, with birdies on the first three and then later three in a row from seven to go out in six-under. He dropped his only shot of the day on 10 but collected three more birdies later.
Rookie professional Ramos, just 20 years old, had the distinction of making two eagles, on the second and 15th, both par fives. Like Sandu, the Asian Development Tour player made his only bogey on 10.
It’s no surprise to see Thompson in contention from the get go. He won the school here at Lake View two years ago shooting rounds of 68 70 65 64 66 to win on 22-under, and he looks to be dialled in once again this week. A few weeks ago he just missed keeping his playing card after finishing 69th on the Merit list.
Australian Zach Murray, who finished 126th on the Merit list, has also begun well carding a 66, along with American Manav Shah and Japan’s Taiki Yoshida.
Many of the well-known names competing this week have made strong starts: Malaysians Ervin Chang (67) and Shahriffuddin Ariffin (68), England’s Sam Broadhurst (68) – the son of former Ryder star Paul Broadhurst – American Berry Henson (68), Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman (68), Irishman Paul Dunne (68) and China’s Wu Ashun (69).
