After two rained out days and several frustrating false starts in between, the inaugural Pattana Golf Championship finally got underway in Thailand Thursday and the Spaniard made up for lost time with a sizzling eight-under 64.

It will see Casado take a two shot lead over Thai Nakul Vichitryuthasastr into Friday’s final round with the MENA Golf Tour’s first ever 72-hole tournament to be decided over 36-holes, whether permitting.

England’s Jodan Garnish and Indian Udayan Mane fired 67s to share third a further shot adrift, one clear of a seven-man group which included Venezuela’s Wolmer Murillo, the winner of the MENA Tour’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen last year.

Starting on Pattana Golf Club & Resort’s 10th tee, Casado jumped out of the blocks with an impressive six successive birdies from the 11th.

“It was an amazing round with nine birdies. My putting was crazy as I made six birdies from holes 11-16 and another three on the front nine,” the Spaniard said.

“This is my first year playing on the MENA Tour and I am really enjoying the atmosphere as there is a tremendous sense of camaraderie among the players.”

That mightn’t last if Casado continues to wield such a hot putter although Vichitryuthasastr went bogey free Thursday and looks a threat. The experienced Thai also lit up the back nine with five birdies before picking up another shot on the 1st to stay in contention for a maiden MENA Tour title.

‘Played a good, solid round. I had an early start and benefited from the lack of wind,” said Vichitryuthasastr who turned professional in 2006 after an impressive amateur career which saw him represent Thailand in the Putra Cup and the Eisenhower Trophy.

Mane also kept it clean, reeling off two birdies on the front nine and three coming home.

“I drove the ball really well which gave me enough chances to hit greens,” said the Bangaluru native, who won a Professional Golf Tour of India’s event in Dhaka in March.

“It was a bit waterlogged in a few places, but it’s our duty as players to adjust to the course. The greens were surprisingly really quick and it caught me off guard on a few holes, but I was able to salvage pars.”

Elsewhere, European Tour regular Prom Meesawat returned a 70 to move into a 16-way tie for 16th along with England’s Zane Scotland and Luke Joy, who finished runner-up at last week’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen.

Brazil’s Dubai-based prodigy Tiago Lobo mixed five birdies with an eagle and four bogeys to lead the amateur division on a 69, three shots ahead of fast-improving Indian star Arkesh Bhatia, who is also based in Dubai.

The cut was made at level-par 72 with 58 professionals and seven amateurs making it to the final round. English cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Kieswetter (73) was among the notables who missed out on the halfway mark.

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Frenchman Weber reeled off seven birdies in a six-under 66 at Mountain Creek Golf Resort & Residences in Amphur on Monday to ease two shots clear of Harradine, South African Tyler Hogarty and England’s Jamie Elson.

Multiple MENA Tour winner Luke Joy was six under through 16 holes but a bogey on the 17^th and double on 18 saw the Englishman settle for a 69 and solo fifth, one ahead of Czech Cyril Suk, Thai Pattaraphol Khanthacha and Blake Snyder (USA).

Harradine, who created headlines in January when he flirted with winning an Asia Tour card, mixed five birdies and a bogey in his 68.

The 33-year-old Swiss national team representative, who left for Thailand after breaking his own course record at The Track, Meydan Golf in Dubai en-route to winning the AGMC Men’s Open, an EFG order of merit event, with rounds of 69-72, leads the Mountain Creek amateur division by three shots from Indian No.1 Rayhan Thomas.

On day when an afternoon thunderstorm suspended play for 70 minutes, 16 players broke par at the Seve Ballesteros-designed course while two players will have to return in the morning to complete their first rounds after play was eventually called due to poor light.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who won last week’s MahaSamutr Masters — the opening event on MENA Tour’s three-event Thailand swing birdied three of his last four holes en-route to a 71 that left him sharing 9^th place in an eight-man group which included Thomas.

Elson, meanwhile, overcame an opening double bogey to stay in contention with a 68.

“I had an early start, but it was pretty hot out there. I had an up-and-down front nine. Doubled the first and then birdied the next four holes which was good,” said Elson, who made the turn at -3.

Englishman Jamie Elson recovered from an opening double bogey to earn an early share of second place

“My back nine [holes] were fairly steady. It’s just one of the courses that demands accuracy off the tee. If you are off line, you are going to lose the ball. Overall, I am very happy my with day’s work.”

Hogarty, who won the season-ending MENA Tour Championship last year, was also pleased with his opening round in what is his first golfng foray to Asia.

“I had a fairly good front nine as I kept the ball in play. This course is of medium length, but you have to hit it straight as it is pretty tight,” he said.

“The back nine [holes] are shorter and I played really them well. I missed one shot at 14 when I couldn’t find my ball. I have never been to Asia before and I am really enjoying the Thailand swing — and even losing a bit of weight in this heat,” he half-pie joked.

Czech Republic’s Cyril Suk provided the highlight of the day, reeling off six birdies, including three in a row from the first, on the front nine, but struggled to maintain the momentum coming home, eventually settling for a 70.

Elsewhere, England’s Craig Hinton, the winner of the MENA Tour’s Order of Merit title last year, returned a 75 while Zane Scotland, a 10-time winner on the MENA Tour, carded a 78.

A guaranteed spot in the PGA Tour’s 2018 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (for the MENA Tour champion), multiple European Tour starts, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Hassan II Trophy, Maybank Championship Malaysia, and the KLM Open, are key incentives for MENA Tour members, in addition to playing privileges on the Sunshine Tour, and exemptions into the Final Stage of the Sunshine Tour and Asian Tour Q-Schools.

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Had it not been for American 15-year-old Victoria Tip-Aucha’s historic appearance in Hau Hin, Thomas’ return to the MENA Tour would have undoubtedly generated the main interest ahead of the $50,000 MahaSamutr Masters at Banyan GC.

Regardless of how Tip-Aucha fares as the developmental tour’s female pioneer, Thomas’ performance will garner much attention after his growing reputation enabled the Dubai-based Indian amateur No.1 to bypass the first three events of the season for better things – the very purpose of the MENA Tour.

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Thomas created headlines when he made the cut at February’s Dubai Desert Classic and played alongside 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett in the final round. It followed a practice round tee time with Rickie Fowler in Abu Dhabi and earned the teen a late invite to the Hero Indian Open, his fourth European Tour start (after playing the Qatar Masters in 2016).

Since then Thomas has focused on the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley GC near Augusta National where a closing 68 saw him finish a credible T13 in what is widely regarded as the world’s leading junior tournament.

The invaluable U.S. experience, coupled with his emergence in Thailand last season when he finished second at the Mountain Creek Open and third at the MahaSamutr Masters, has Thomas raring for this week’s 54-holer.

“It feels good to return to golf courses where you have enjoyed some good finishes,” said Thomas who kicked on from Thailand to become the MENA Tour’s first amateur winner at his home Dubai Creek Open last September.

“I have been working very hard with my coach Justin Parsons and the good thing is that I am feeling confident about my game.”

Thomas won’t have it all his own way in Thailand, of course. Englishman Zane Scotland, a 10-time winner, is back after a back injury saw him skip last week’s Ras Al Khaimah Classic. Bahrain-based Daniel Owen will look to rebound from a disastrous final round 82 at Tower Links after leading through 36-holes with a pair of 66s.

Other notable contenders include Lee Corfield, Craig Hinton and Andrew Marshall, all multiple winners on the tour, and cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Kieswetter, who graduated from the tour’s qualifying school earlier this year.

They’ll all be mindful of Wolmer Murillo, the 36-year-old Venezuelan star who won the Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen by three shots and followed it up with a second-place finish in the MahaSamutr Masters a week later when the tour travelled to Thailand for the first time in 2016.

Murillo, who is attached to Banyan Golf Club, will be keen to pick up where he left off last year, but will have to contend with a 139-player field including 13 MENA Tour winners. The tournament will have a distinct Thai flavour with a strong home contingent of 25 golfers.

UAE’s Ahmed Al Musharrekh will spearhead the challenge in the MENA Division, confident of racking up some good results.

“I am working on certain aspects of my game and hope to get things dialed in sooner than later. It’s always a work in progress,”Al Musharrekh said.

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