Twenty-six champions. Ten Rolex First-Time Winners. Seven playoffs. Two sets of sisters. One 72-hole scoring record.

From the season opener in the Bahamas to the finale in Florida, the 2018 LPGA Tour season provided fans from around the globe with drama, determination and an awe-inspiring display of world-class athleticism.

“With 32 events producing 26 different winners, 2018 showed the incredible depth of LPGA talent.  Currently, the top 15 in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings come from 10 different countries,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “As the world looks for opportunities to empower women and showcase global diversity, the LPGA stands at the forefront of this important, inspirational movement.”

DOMINANT YEAR FOR JUTANUGARN

In a season characterized by depth in talent, the dominant performance by Ariya Jutanugarn is even more remarkable. The 23-year-old from Bangkok, Thailand, clinched Rolex Player of the Year honors with three events left in the season and won the $1 million bonus that comes with winning the Race to the CME Globe. Jutanugarn is currently No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, a position she has held since Oct. 29.

Other awards lining her shelf include the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, which she earned with the season’s best overall major performance, and the LEADERS Top 10s competition, which she captured with 17 top-10 finishes. Jutanugarn also earned the Vare Trophy, which is given to the player with the season’s lowest scoring average; her 69.415 is the 10th lowest scoring average in LPGA history.

Jutanugarn earned her second major victory at the U.S. Women’s Open, joining wins at the Kingsmill Championship presented by GEICO and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. She led the LPGA in earnings ($2,743,949, nearly $1.2 million more than second-place Minjee Lee) and set single-season records in birdies (470, 56 more than Lee) and rounds in the 60s (57 of 106, six more than Lee).

Jutanugarn is the first player to sweep the Rolex Player of the Year, the Vare Trophy, the Money Title, the Race to the CME Globe and the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award since the latter two were introduced in 2014.

Yet in true Ariya fashion, her favorite moment of 2018 was not any of her personal accolades or history-breaking moments. When asked the highlight of her year, she pointed to the breakthrough first win her sister Moriya Jutanugarn earned at the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK

The entire 2018 LPGA Tour season saw numerous statistical and historical records fall, led by Sei Young Kim’s week at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. In a performance that defines the word dominant, Kim set the LPGA’s 72-hole scoring record at an astounding 31-under 257, smashing the previous mark of 27-under 261 held by Annika Sorenstam and Kim herself. Kim also tied the 54-hole scoring record of 24-under 192, and her 32 sub-par holes in a single event is the most in LPGA history.

The year included 10 Rolex First-Time Winners, tied with 2005 for the second-most in LPGA history, one behind the 11 First-Time Winners in 1995. The season’s 26 different winners ties 1991 for the most in Tour history, while Jin Young Ko became just the second player in LPGA history to win in her first official tournament. Ko captured the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open en route to becoming Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, an honor she clinched with four events remaining in the season.

2018 had the most $800,000 earners with 24 and records set at every $100,000 increment between $100,000 and $800,000, further showcasing the continued financial growth and stability of the LPGA Tour. Additionally, two sister duos – Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and Jessica and Nelly Korda – joined Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam as the only sets of sisters to both win on the LPGA Tour.

FIVE PLAYERS, FIVE COUNTRIES, FIVE MAJOR VICTORIES

The season’s five major championships saw five different players from five different countries earn major glory. And for the first time since 2006, three majors required extra holes to declare a winner.

At the ANA Inspiration, Pernilla Lindberg earned her first LPGA title in a marathon eight-hole playoff with Inbee Park and Jennifer Song that stretched into Monday. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship saw Sung Hyun Park outlast So Yeon Ryu and Nasa Hataoka in a two-hole playoff to earn her second major title, while Ariya Jutanugarn captured the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open in a four-hole playoff with Hyo Joo Kim that immediately became one of the most memorable moments in LPGA history.

The season’s final two majors took the Tour to Europe and added inspirational winners at very different places in their LPGA careers. The Ricoh Women’s British Open saw 2018 LPGA rookie Georgia Hall become just the second Englishwoman to win the title since the tournament became a major in 2001. Culminating the major season, 18-year LPGA veteran Angela Stanford earned her first major win at The Evian Championship and, at age 40, cemented a victory for players of all ages.

TEAM KOREA TAKES UL INTERNATIONAL CROWN ON HOME SOIL

For the first time, the UL International Crown was conducted outside the United States, with Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, Republic of Korea, hosting the third playing of this growing international event.

Buoyed by boisterously partisan crowds, Team Korea earned its first ULIC victory with 15 points, followed by defending champions Team USA (11 points) and Team England (11 points). The winning putt came courtesy of 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion In-Kyung Kim, who defeated England’s Bronte Law, 2 up, in the penultimate singles match. Kim was joined on the victorious team by three major champions in Sung Hyun Park, So Yeon Ryu and In Gee Chun.

SYMETRA TOUR BUILDING THE FUTURE OF THE GAME

Across 21 tournaments, the 2018 Symetra Tour had 18 winners hailing from seven different countries, including three victories for 2018 Player of the YearRuixin Liu of the People’s Republic of China. Liu led the 2018 Volvik Race for the Card, which annually awards LPGA Tour membership to the top 10 players on the season-ending money list. The 10 graduates to the LPGA Tour accounted for just nine of the season’s 21 wins, underlining the Tour’s depth and the need for consistency along with victories.

The 2018 Symetra Tour season also continued the upward financial trend for the LPGA Tour’s official qualifying tour. Symetra Tour players competed for an average weekly purse of $150,000, the highest in Tour history.

DOUBLE WINS FOR DAME DAVIES

One of the game’s most beloved veterans, Laura Davies enjoyed her own season to remember in 2018. She started the year with an ageless runner-up finish at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, where the then-54-year-old recorded her best LPGA performance since 2007.

Davies then dominated the first summer with two senior major championships for women golfers. In July, she captured the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open at the historic Chicago Golf Club, taking a staggering 10-stroke win over fellow fan-favorite Juli Inkster. Three months later, Davies took a four-stroke win at the Senior LPGA Championship at French Lick Resort’s Pete Dye Course and further cemented her place in golf history.

LOOKING BEYOND THE ROPES

Beyond the competitive side of the LPGA Tour, 2018 marked a banner year for the LPGA’s off-the-course initiatives. Since January, the LPGA has announced 12 new corporate and title partners, including Dow, the title sponsor for the new Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational team event, and Aon, which is presenting the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a new season-long competition on both the LPGA and PGA Tours.

The LPGA*USGA Girls Golf program has grown to nearly 500 sites, with more than 80,000 junior golfers engaging with the program in 2018. Since its inception in 1989, more than a half million participants have been inspired through the program’s Five E’s of empower, enrich, engage, exercise and energize. The year also saw the LPGA Women’s Network reach a total audience of 150,000, while the 12,000 members of the LPGA Amateur Golf Association, which joined the LPGA family in March, participated in more than 7,500 local and national events.

Unai Emery selected a youthful Arsenal to play in the Ukraine and they romped past Vorskla Poltava 3-0, guaranteeing top spot in Group E in a match switched to freezing Kiev after security concerns in the east of the country.

Teenagers Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock scored either side of an Aaron Ramsey penalty as the Gunners went in 3-0 at half-time.

Vorskla Poltava’s coach had complained that the switch forced by UEFA had deprived the city of a “holiday”, and had also distracted his players.

Arsenal will now avoid any of the Champions League drop outs in the draw for the next round as they have a better head-to-head record with second-placed Sporting Lisbon.

Maurizio Sarri had demanded a reaction from his Chelsea side after they lost at Tottenham in the Premier League and the Blues answered his call, beating PAOK Salonika 4-0 to win their group with a brace from French target man Olivier Giroud.

“The main target was to win, we needed a strong team reaction and we did it well tonight,” said the World Cup winner Giroud.

“I am really happy with the team spirit and we can move forwards now and start some new momentum.

“I’ve scored goals in the past but it’s true that I was waiting for more chances,” said Giroud, who broke a long streak without a goal in the last round.

“You need a bit of luck in front of goal. I had a good assist from my team-mates, I love this kind of ball behind the defence.

“Four goals plus a clean sheet, a good night for us. When the manager starts me I try to give my best, do my part.”

— Down to the wire —

Celtic still need a final day draw to go through after beating pointless Rosenborg away for the second year in a row thanks to Scott Sinclair’s emphatic header just before the break.

The Scots can thank Austrian outfit RB Salzburg, who won Group B outright with a victory over their German sister club RB Leipzig 1-0. The Germans now have to win in Glasgow to qualify ahead of Celtic.

Rangers drew 0-0 at home with Spain’s Villarreal, keeping their hopes of last day qualification from Group G alive a point behind the Spaniards and Rapid Vienna who are both on seven.

Bayer Leverkusen, Zurich, Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal, Frankfurt, Lazio and Chelsea were already qualified before Thursday’s games when Salzburg, Sporting Lisbon, Real Betis, Zenit Saint-Petersburg, Dynamo Kiev, Krasnodar and Fenerbahce all secured their place in the hat for the next round draw.

Sporting thumped six past Garabagh in Azerbaijan while in another high scoring game AC Milan emerged as 5-2 winners over minnows Dudelange of Luxembourg but need a draw with Olympiakos in the final game to qualify.

His place in F1 was confirmed this week, with Toro Rosso announcing that Albon will partner Daniil Kvyat next year.

Born in London to a British racing-driver father and Thai mother, Albon got his first taste of motor racing in the karting scene as a schoolboy in England.

He follows in the tyre tracks of Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, or “B Bira”, who drove in the early years of F1 from 1950-4.

Ups and downs

After signing to the Red Bull Junior Team aged just 12 in 2008, Albon worked his way up to a drive in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series for the Spanish EPIC team in 2012. Following his switch to the KTC team for 2013, his results steadily improved. “I worked really hard and tried to impress every time I got in the car,” he says, “and I have to say a big thank you to Red Bull and Dr Marko for believing in me and giving me a second chance.”

Albon drove alongside the highly rated driver Charles Leclerc in GP3 in 2016, where he finished second to his team-mate in the championship despite beating Leclerc 4-3 for race wins.

F2 success

The revival of Formula Two as F1’s feeder series for 2017 provided the crucial step on the ladder for Albon. After a 10th-place finish for ART that first season and just a couple of podiums, Albon finished a strong third in 2018 for DAMS, with wins in Azerbaijan, Britain, Hungary and Russia, and four other podium spots. Now comes the biggest challenge in motorsports. On March 17, when Albon steps into the Toro Rosso car at the Australian Grand Prix, Thailand will be watching.

JOHANNES Veerman of the US fired a spectacular 8-under 62 to take a three-shot lead over the four players in the opening round of the US$500,000 Queen’s Cup presented by the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation on Thursday.

Propelled by seven birdies, five of them successive, plus an eagle on the sixth to recover from a bogey on five, the 26-year-old former Asian Development Tour No 1 stole the limelight from locals stars at the 6,939-yard par-70 Bangkok course.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of wind when I started this morning. I made some birdies and got some momentum. It just kept rolling,” said the American, who made amends after last week in Hong Kong where he missed the cut.

“This is just one of those rounds that came out of nowhere. I hit a low last week as well but it just didn’t come together,” added Veerman, who won an ADT title in Taiwan in 2016 to end the year as tour No 1.

Jazz Janewattananond 

A quartet of defending champion Jazz Janewattananond, three-time Asian Tour No 1 Thaworn Wiratchant, Filipino Miguel Tabuena and Thai-Japanese Kosuke Hamamoto are three shots back on 65.

“I didn’t play well last week in Hong Kong so I’m pretty content with how I started this week. I’m still adjusting my swing,” said Jazz.

Kosuke dazzled in his maiden Asian Tour event as a pro, producing seven birdies to recover from a double-bogey.

“I was playing so well in the first 10 holes and created a lot of opportunities. But I lost my concentration a bit on the 11th hole where I ended up with a double-bogey. But I recovered fast to shoot a birdie from the bunker on the 12th and got my momentum back,” said the 19-year-old from Chiang Mai, who turned professional in September.

Kosuke Hamamoto 

The Thai-Japanese is playing his sixth event as a pro after securing three top-10 finishes on the Thai PGA Tour, with a best of third in the SAT Chanthaburi Championship in October.

“To be honest I feel less pressure as a pro. There is so much tension when you compete with the national flag on your shirt,” added the 2017 SEA Games gold medallist, who’s hoping to make his second cut on the Asian Tour after the Diamond Cup in Japan this year.

Vanchai Luangnitikul 

Schoolboy Vanchai Luangnitikul shot a 68, matched by young gun Suradit Yongcharoenchai, Phachara Kongwatmai and Amardip Malik of India.

“I didn’t have much expectation coming to this tournament,” said the 12th grader at the British International School Phuket, who won the Youth Olympic mixed team gold medal with Atthaya Thitikul last month. “I just want to see how the pros play and try to learn from them. But I feel good to have had a decent round today and I’m looking forward to playing better tomorrow.”

Vichai, who was owner and chairman of King Power Duty Free and owner of Premier League football club Leicester City, was killed on October 27 when his helicopter crashed at the stadium. Four others also died in the accident.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid tribute to the victims of the accident on a visit to Leicester along with fans, staff, family and dignitaries, who looked over the thousands of shirts, scarves, drawings and cards that had been left in Vichai’s memory.

Prince William and the Duchess later mingled with other mourners.

The Prince, who is president of the Football Association, said: “Catherine and I wanted to visit Leicester to pay tribute to a man we knew, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and those who died alongside him in October.

“We knew Vichai as a man who cared deeply about his family and also his community.

“He of course was a man of wealth, but that wealth did not leave him disconnected from those around him. He believed in giving back.

“Catherine and I also wanted to come to Leicester because of what the people of this city, and fans of this club, have shown us all over the last few weeks.”

Vichai, the club’s chairman since 2011, had donated £4 million (Bt169 million) in personal donations to help local charities.

Following their visit to the stadium, where Vichai’s team secured its first top-flight title in the club’s history in 2016 , The Duke and Duchess travelled to the University of Leicester.

In 2016, after the team’s historic win, Vichai was honoured with an honorary degree by the university.

But it was his £1 million donation in May 2018 – presently being used to fund medical research and training through the creation of a professorship in Child Health – which will continue his legacy.

Accompanied by the University’s President and Vice-Chancellor Professor, Paul Boyle CBE, the royal couple learned about the educational programmes that the club continues to support.

Pochettino’s side were 10 minutes away from being eliminated at the group stage as they laboured to break down the massed Inter defence at Wembley.

But Eriksen, surprisingly dropped to the bench by Pochettino, came to Tottenham’s rescue when the substitute fired home to take their Group B qualification bid down to the final game.

It was a dramatic end to a hard-fought clash that Tottenham had to win to avoid bowing out at the group stage for the second time in three seasons.

After taking one point from their opening three matches, Tottenham had scored twice in the last 12 minutes to avoid an early exit against PSV Eindhoven earlier this month.

And this latest act of European escapology means second placed Tottenham are now level on points with third placed Inter.

They head to Barcelona to face the group leaders on December 11 knowing they will reach the last 16 as long as they match Inter’s result against PSV on the same night.

That won’t be easy against Lionel Messi and company, but Pochettino has faith.

“All is possible in football. We have big respect to Barcelona, they are one of the best teams in Europe, it will be so tough. But we have belief and faith that we can win,” Pochettino said.

“We need fresh legs, fresh mind and no injuries. We need to arrive that way in Barcelona.”

Barca may rest players given they are already through, but Pochettino is not expecting any favours.

“I expect that they are going to play with all the best players, but I don’t know how they are going to prepare the side,” he added.

“We need to approach the game in the best way and believe that we can win.

“What Barcelona is going to do is not in our hands. In the Champions League no one is going to give a present and not care about the result.”

Inter boss Luciano Spalletti still expects they will advance if they beat PSV because Barca are so formidable at home.

“As long as we do our job I think we will go through. It is about what we do,” he said.

“They have got some top class players at Barcelona, they haven’t lost at home in the last five years in the Champions League and they will want to keep that record.”

Faced with a do-or-die situation, Pochettino had claimed it was “massive motivation” for Tottenham to silence the critics who said they had blown their chance to make the last 16.

His players seemed to have taken that message to heart as they dominated the first half.

– Extreme caution –

Inter’s knowledge that a point would send them through meant they approached their first competitive match at Wembley with extreme caution.

Content to defend deep for long periods, Inter’s safety-first game-plan was almost undone when Harry Winks curled a superb effort against the bar from 25 yards.

Pochettino introduced Eriksen in the 70th minute and it proved an inspired move as the Denmark playmaker turned the game in Tottenham’s favour.

Hugo Lloris made a fine save to deny Ivan Perisic and Tottenham finally broke through in the 80th minute.

At last unlocking the stubborn Inter defence, a sweeping move featured Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli exchanging passes before Eriksen was teed up for a cool finish from 10 yards out.

Pochettino’s relief was clear as he looked to the heavens and pumped his fists, but Tottenham still have one last daunting hurdle to overcome in Barcelona before they can celebrate a last 16 berth.

Juan Bernat and Neymar scored to put PSG in control in the first half in the French capital, before a James Milner penalty on the stroke of half-time ensured this pivotal game remained in the balance until the death.

PSG knew a defeat here coupled with an unfavourable result in the night’s other Group C game could see the ambitious Qatar-owned club eliminated already.

But instead it is Liverpool — beaten in each of their last five games away from Anfield in the Champions League — who now seem the more likely to miss out on the last 16.

“When you saw their line-up, the approach they chose was full risk, especially in the beginning, to try everything as long as your legs carry you. The quality they have meant it was obviously quite intense to deal with,” admitted Klopp.

He acknowledged that his team had not been good enough, but hinted that a “clever” Neymar had play-acted to break the game up. He was also unhappy at Polish referee Szymon Marciniak for his decision not to send off Marco Verratti for a challenge on Joe Gomez in the first half.

“For me it’s a red card. I look like a bad loser, but I don’t care,” said Klopp.

“Tonight we looked like butchers when you look at how many yellow cards we had. It was clever from PSG, especially Neymar, but a lot of others went down like it was something serious and we were not that calm anymore.”

With Napoli beating Red Star Belgrade 3-1, in a tight group Liverpool must now win either 1-0 or by two clear goals at home to the Italians in a fortnight if they are to progress.

Such a regression in Europe would be a big blow to Liverpool, even if it could conceivably help them in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, PSG head to Belgrade for their last game still needing to win to be certain of advancing, but at least they have their fate in their hands.

“It was our last chance to show that we are capable of competing with a team like Liverpool, a team with an incredible mentality,” said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel.

“Everyone was ready to suffer for each other. That was necessary against Liverpool and it was a big step forward for us.”

– Liverpool overrun –

PSG had only won one of their previous seven games in the competition. However, Klopp’s side were completely overrun in the opening stages at the Parc des Princes.

Angel di Maria had forced a fine save from Alisson with a dipping volley before Paris went in front in the 13th minute.

Kylian Mbappe tried to square for Edinson Cavani, but the ball broke to Bernat, and the Spaniard swept home his second goal in this season’s competition.

Verratti’s challenge on Gomez came midway through the first half, but PSG survived that and went on to double their lead thanks to a clearly wound up Neymar.

He had been drawing fouls from opponents and whipping up a fervent home crowd before he burst down the left in the 37th minute, combining with Mbappe.

The France star crossed low for Cavani, whose attempt was saved by Alisson, but Neymar converted the rebound.

That should have ensured a comfortable cushion for the hosts at the break, but Liverpool were gifted a route back into the game in first-half stoppage time.

Di Maria brought down Sadio Mane just inside the area. The referee did not initially give a penalty but then rightly changed his mind, and Milner beat Gianluigi Buffon from 12 yards.

Understandably given the high stakes, PSG sat back more and more in the second half, although they still came closest to scoring again from a Marquinhos header, and their win was fully deserved.

“We were not worried about playing at home. We know how strong we are and we always knew we could do it,” said Mbappe.

The 28-year-old Buriram United player says the Thais will need to overcome a wall of noise and pressure inside Kuala Lumpur’s 87,000-seater stadium as they seek victory in a rematch of the 2014 final.

Thailand and Malaysia have met 13 times in the tournament’s history, the Kingdom winning seven matches, drawing three and losing three against the neighbours. However, all three of those defeats came at this venue.

“It gets even tougher from now on,” said Pansa, who hails from Chanthaburi. “Pressure from the home fans is the first thing we have to bear. We need high levels of concentration but I believe the team can pull it off,” added the defender, who has been called up by coach Milovan Rejavac for the first time since Fifa World Cup qualification games in June 2017.

Pansa says he is excited to be playing in front of the biggest crowd in his career but will try to turn the atmosphere into motivation to break the Thai jinx at the stadium.

“I’ve never played in front of crowd this big. But the more fans there are, the more entertaining the game we can bring to the pitch. If we can beat the home team, our fans there should accept us more. This is a challenge,” Pansa said.

Meanwhile midfielder Thitipan Puangchan is hoping to recover from an ankle injury in time for Saturday’s game.

The 25-year-old vice captain was left with a swollen ankle after the game with Singapore on Sunday, which means he’s doubtful for the semi-final first leg.

“The injury is not serious. I will try to take a good care of myself and be fit in time for Saturday,” said Thitipan.

Thailand have not lost a game on their way to the semi-finals, beating Timor Leste 7-0, Indonesia 4-2, holding the Philippines 1-1, before crushing Singapore 4-0 to finish top of B Group. The team will fly to Kuala Lumpur this afternoon and will have a day’s preparation before Saturday’s game, which will be televised live from 7pm on Channel 7. The second leg will take place in Bangkok on December 5.

The 23-year-old Wang won the tournament in 2016 and he is riding on the positive vibes from the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita to spur him to another triumphant performance.

Wang pipped Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman to the title two years ago, when the tournament was played on the same venue. Both golfers were deadlocked going into the final hole of the event and it was Wang who scored the pivotal birdie on the final hole to win his maiden Asian Tour title by one shot.

Fellow past champions Dylan Frittelli and George Coetzee are also fancying their chances at the event, tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Last year, when the event was played at the Heritage Golf Club, South Africa’s Frittelli beat India’s Arjun Atwal in a play-off to capture his second European Tour title.

Frittelli is looking to improve his record at the Four Seasons Golf Club, Mauritius at Anahita. He missed the cut when the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open was played there in 2016.

Compatriot Coetzee lifted the winged trophy in 2015 after defeating Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen on the second extra hole. Like many golfers in the field, he is enjoying the pleasant atmosphere in Mauritius but remains focused on playing well in the tournament.

It will be a homecoming for Asian Tour honorary member and International Ambassador Ernie Els. The four-time Major winner will be competing for the first time on the golf course that he designed.

Most definitely, he will be using his intimate knowledge of the course to his advantage at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

With thunderstorms suspending play for more than three hours at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in the afternoon, play for the opening round of the RM225,000 (approximately US$58,000) could not be completed, leaving all the players from afternoon groups having to return at 7.30am on Thursday.

The PGM Maybank ADT Championship will draw the curtains on what has been a enthralling season on the ADT, which is the secondary circuit of the Asian Tour.

Apart from the crowning of the 2018 ADT Order of Merit champion this week, there is also the exciting race to finish inside the top-seven place on the money list where players will earn their Asian Tour cards for next season.

Pisitchai, who is chasing his first win on the Asian Development Tour, showed his determination by storming out of the blocks early with four birdies to turn in 31.

The 18-year-old continued his charge with another two birdies on holes one and two before dropping his only shot of the day at the par-four four.

However he would recover quickly with another birdie on six to sign for a 66.

“It has been an exciting round. I felt really confident as the round went on and I had a feeling I would go on to do well.

“I kept telling myself not to get too carried away and continue playing the way I’ve been playing since the first hole,”said Pisitchai, who had one top-10 on the ADT in Negeri Sembilan last month.

While Pisitchai is chasing his ADT breakthrough, Keyser is eyeing his fourth win and is hopeful of doing so after enjoying a season which has seen him record seven top-10s.

“It’s always nice to have a bogey-free round especially on a challenging course like this. I kept my discipline well and I’m happy I stuck to my rountine and execute my shots well.

“I didn’t start off the season too well but it got better as it progresses and I obviously looking to end it off on a high note,” said Keyser.

Nitithorn Thippong is meanwhile one shot back of his younger brother after he returned with a 67 to take third place.

“I was really having fun with my golf game today and I enjoyed a great start especially with a birdie-eagle start. It’s still early days but it’s still nice to start well,” said Nitithorn, a one-time ADT winner.

All ADT events are afforded Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status. The winner of each tournament receives a minimum of six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale.