Thailand Masters Rd 1: What they said

Thomas Detry (Bel) First round 63 (-8)
It’s beautiful to be here in Thailand as the weather’s pretty horrible back home. It gets dark at 3.30 in the afternoon and the sun is up at 10 and we get so much rain and wind. The course is in great condition and Thongchai is taking good care of me. I’m having a blast so far. I’m not getting ahead of myself as there’s still three more rounds to go and there are lots of good players here. The strength of the field is good and I just have to stay patient. And if I keep playing like that for the next three days, I’ll have a good chance. This week is also very much like a holiday and I guess it helps to keep myself relaxed while having fun at the same time.

Settee Prakongvech (Tha) First round 64 (-7)
It was a good round and I hit and putted the ball really well. I know this is my last chance to secure my Asian Tour card and I hope something good will come my way this week. I need a really big finish, maybe finishing inside the top-three or win. But anything can happen in golf and I’m hopeful of miracles.

Berry Henson (Usa) First round 65 (-6)
I cannot complain as my goal was to shoot five-under today. I got to six but I didn’t really feel like a six-under round. I got a few good breaks, made some bad putts that went in. So it was kind of a sneaky 65 today, but I’ll take it anytime. I only had one top-10 this year but I did also play some decent golf this year. I made some adjustments to my game and I’m trying to get ready for next season. I had a couple of new clubs in the bag and just trying to build the confidence again. It has been quite low recently and I’m trying to get back that self-belief. But things are moving in the right direction and if I can continue doing that in the next few days, it will great for my game.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) First round 66 (-5)
My tee shots were very good today and if I can find the same feeling I have with my driver for my putter, it’ll be awesome. I just need to stay focus each day and hopefully the result will come. I had several top-10s in my last few events and I can feel my form is coming back. I want to get my first win on the Asian Tour.

Rory Hie (Ina) First round 66 (-5)
It’s nice to know you’re playing well again. I’ve been suffering from pain in my thumb for almost a month and I’m on painkillers now. I’m happy they took away the pain from me today and I could play. I took a pretty heavy dose of painkillers. The win in India and how I’ve played in the second half of 2019 just proved to me that I can pursue golf as a profession. If I can continue to bring my second half form over to 2020, I believe I can climb even higher up the rankings.