Thailand’s Danthai Boonma clearly likes the Shinhan Donghae Open. He has played in the prestigious Korean event four times and comfortably made it through to the weekend on each occasion. In 2022 he even had a run at the title before tying for 14th.

Today, in his fifth appearance the affinity showed once more as he took a share of the first-round lead, shooting five-under-par 67.

The fact that it’s a different venue this year – the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon – had little effect. Two birdies in his last three holes as the day drew to a close saw him share top spot with Korean Jiho Yang.

Danthai finds momentum after slow start

Danthai began the day on hole 10 and stumbled with bogeys on two and three – missing short putts.

“But then I talked with my caddie,” he said. “It was like, I have to figure out about my putting. After that, I found something and I made two birdies in a row, so I found some momentum.”

The 29-year-old’s game has been trending. He was runner-up in the International Series Morocco in July and the following month claimed the Singha Championship on the All Thailand Golf Tour.

He explained: “Right now I think everything is like 80%, if you know what I mean? I think the most important improvement for me is short game. Before it was like under 50%, right now more like 60-70%, so everything is good.”

He is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour but the most recent was the 2019 Bangladesh Open.

Yang and Lee among top contenders

Yang shares pole position despite a run of poor form recently.

“I started changing my swing two, three weeks ago. I’m getting into it being more comfortable now,” said the Korean, who has won twice before on the local tour.

“Currently I’m trying to work on my swing and change it up a bit, so I didn’t really have high expectations. But my long game was actually a lot better than I had thought, so that’s why my second shots were really solid.”

He was bogey free today – with four birdies on the back nine, having started on 10.

Canadian Richard T. Lee, winner of this event eight years ago, sits one shot back. His consistency has been a hallmark of the Asian Tour in recent years, and he remains firmly in contention after a four-under round.