Plphol on top

Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol carded a six-under-par 65 to take the lead midway through the opening round of the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open.

Plaphol fired six birdies in a bogey-free round on the par-71 Pantai Indah Kapuk course to take a one-shot lead over Finland’s Mikko Ilonen after the morning’s play at Damai Indah Golf and Country Club.

Denmark’s Mads Vibe-Hastrup and Shiv Kapur of India were a further stroke back on 67, while the Indian pair of Gaurav Ghei and SSP Chowrasia were tied with Portugal’s Jose-Filipe Lima on 68.

Mark Foster held the lead at one stage after carding an eagle and three birdies to move to five under after 15 holes.

However, the 31-year-old Worksop native bogeyed the last three holes of his round to finish two under, tied with fellow Englishman Simon Hurd for eighth spot.

Plaphol, who claimed an Asian Tour victory on home soil in last year’s Bangkok Airways Open, was delighted with his bogey-free opening round.

“The fairways were still a little bit wet but I managed to have consistent round without dropping any shots today, so I am quite pleased,” said the 32-year-old, who has plied his trade on the Japan Golf Tour in recent years.

“I was driving it well today too. I hit seven fairways on the front nine and six on the back and I was steady on the greens as well.

“There are a lot of good players out there this week from Asia and Europe. Anyone here has the ability to win it but it all boils down to solid driving.

“The wind plays a huge factor and if it picks up tomorrow, it may be slightly tougher to improve on my score, but I will try my best.”

Ilonen, a top-10 finisher at the Malaysian Open last week, overcame the oppressive conditions to shoot a round of 66 that included six birdies and a lone bogey.

“It was a very good start for the week. I played very well and holed some nice putts today,” said the Finn.

“But the wind got up over the last few holes and it was a bit scrappy. The 18th is playing really tough now for a lot of guys.

“Scoring is going to be better than last week, but the little bit of breeze will keep the scoring under control.”

Defending champions Simon Dyson opened with a one-under 70, while Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee triple-bogeyed the 17th en route to a one-over 72.

The opening round was suspended at 5pm (10am Irish time) due to heavy rain and the threat of lightning.

There were still 12 groups due to finish their rounds.