Published July 17, 2008 on March 16, 2018

Hong Kong’s Jason Hak Snares Lead of Chengdu Championship

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Hong Kong No. 1 Jason Hak Shun-yat bagged two eagles in an 8-under 64 to lead by two after the first round of the Chengdu Championship, the opening event on this season’s PGA TOUR Series-China.

Hak, 24, also shot six birdies at Luxehills International Country Club and was at 10-under before a double-bogey on the par-3 17th. American Ryann Ree and England’s James Maw, who secured his place through the Monday qualifier, both shot 66.

Englishmen Callum Tarren and William Harrold carded 67 to share fourth with China’s Bowen Xiao, Chinese Taipei’s Chiehpo Lee, Australian D.J. Loypur and American Paul Imondi.

Hak, who finished 17th on the Order of Merit in 2016, is searching for his first victory on PGA TOUR Series-China, which has resumed after a year’s hiatus.

“I’m feeling great. I was hitting it really good today. Everything was going my way,” said Hak, who’s based in Beijing. “I hit some good iron shots, made some putts, and turned in a 64.”

Hak eagled the 525-yard, par-5 seventh after “two great shots”, sticking his approach to six feet. He also eagled the 14th after holing out with his 9-iron second shot on the 438-yard par-4.

“I was really on fire. We just wanted to shoot as low as we could. I was playing really well and was at 10-under, but had a little bump coming in on 17,” said Hak, whose caddie is Qiliang Pang, who worked for Zecheng Dou when the current PGA TOUR player won four times on the 2016 PGA TOUR Series-China.

“Today’s already history, so now I’m focused on getting a good rest so I can come out tomorrow and keep the momentum going,” Hak added.

 

Ree, 24, shot nine birdies in Wednesday’s Pro-Am and added another six on Thursday, when he birdied his opening hole on 10, bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15 and then eagled the par-five 16th.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I struggled a little bit on my first nine, but on my second nine I started making putts and everything started going my way,” said the laid-back Californian, who is of Korean descent.

“I think my strong point is my driver and I was able to drive it pretty well today and had a lot of looks at birdies today. I’d say the course suits me so I’m just hoping that I can keep plugging away and keep my momentum going.”

Maw, 28, was the best of several Englishman on the leaderboard and followed up strongly on the 69 he shot to finish second in the Monday qualifier. The Englishman holed out from a bunker to eagle the par-5 seventh, also carding five birdies and a bogey on No. 4.

 

“I got off to a good start and was 2-under after three and dropped a silly one on the fourth,” said Maw, who played three European Challenge Tour events last year, sharing fourth at the Bridgestone Challenge in England.

“I then holed a shot from out of nowhere on the seventh. I actually didn’t hit a very good second shot and hit a 3-wood into the bunker. I prayed it wasn’t plugged and then got there and it was nice. I just splashed it out and ran up the hill and it dropped in.”

A ‘rusty’ Tarren, who plays out of the same club as Maw, is playing only his second tournament since December, but his game plan of plotting his way around the course worked well.

Eighth in the 2016 money list, the big-hitting 28-year-old from Darlington had four birdies on the front nine, dropped his only shot of the day on the par-three 12th and responded with two more birdies in his final three holes.

“I’m pretty happy. I had the ball under control all day. On the front nine, I didn’t really put a foot wrong. I feel I’ve got a good game plan for this course and I’ve just got to stick to that and keep hitting good shots,” said Tarren, looking for his first victory on the Tour after three runner-up finishes.

“The course sets up decent because you’ve got to hit it to spots on a lot of holes where everyone’s going to be hitting to. I haven’t really hit many drivers, just 5-woods into spots where I know I can hit the green and get it close to the flag.”

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s sole participant Arie Irawan posted 72 and is tied in 53^rd spot with nine other players.

The first eight of the year’s 14 events were announced on Wednesday. The Chongqing Championship will be held at Poly Golf Club next week and will be followed by two events in May, two in June and at least two in July.

Every tournament on this year’s PGA TOUR Series-China offers RMB 1.5 million, a 25-percent increase over purse levels from 2016.

The PGA TOUR established PGA TOUR Series-China in 2014 as its third international developmental tour, following in the footsteps of PGA TOUR Latinoamerica and the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. Since its inception, PGA TOUR Series-China players have received Official World Golf Ranking points for top finishes at official tournaments.