Carlos Pigem (+1) is on the ropes in his attempt to save his Asian Tour card after the first round of the Link Hong Kong Open. Does he have room? Yes. But not much. He is obliged to make a comeback. His card this Thursday of 71 strokes at the Hong Kong Golf Club has placed him in 93rd position on the leaderboard, two strokes from the cut and six from the top 10, a result he must aim for to give himself a chance to maintain full rights for 2025.
Pigem started the round well, with a good birdie on the 3rd hole, reaching this par 5 in two. Shortly after, he saved a good par on the 6th and responded to the first bogey that came on the 8th with a great birdie on the 9th, holing from the bunker in a tricky situation. Again, he saved a good par on the 10th and signed another birdie on the 14th, the second par 5 of the Asian course. However, a painful three-putt on the 14th ended in a bogey and complicated the end of his round. He finished with two more bogeys on holes 15 and 18 for a total of +1. On Friday, he will play in the morning session.
The other Spaniard present in Hong Kong, Eugenio López Chacarra (-1) has started under par, right on the cut line. He made four birdies and three bogeys, in a notable round from tee to green, fundamental on this course, but somewhat cold with the putter.
As for the tournament, the leader is Thai Nitithorn Thippong (-8), with a one-stroke advantage over Kevin Yuan, Ben Campbell, and Kazuki Higa. Among the group of big favourites for the win, the best performance has been from Patrick Reed (-5). Meanwhile, Justin Rose is at -1 and Tom Kim and Martin Kaymer have scored +1.
