The top 140 players and ties after 36 holes will progress to round three and four. The top 70 players and ties after 72 holes will play in Sunday’s final round, with half getting places on the tour.
Cheung, who finished 87th in last year’s order of merit, began his attempt to get back on tour with a one-over-par 73 at the Springfield Royal Country Club in Hua Hin.
That left him well behind early leader Nick Voke, with the New Zealander shooting a six-under 65, and Spain’s Carlos Pigem, who played his first round at Lake View Resort and Golf Club, a stroke further back.
Brazel was among 30 players tied at one under, with another large group, including Catlin, at level par.
Talented Tan takes pro route
Singapore’s Shannon Tan takes her first steps as a professional this week, teeing it up in two mixed-field events on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
The 19-year-old is taking a gap year from Texas Tech University to concentrate on golf, and will play in the TPS Murray River tournament at the Cobram Barooga Old Course in New South Wales starting on Thursday.
Tan, the first Singaporean to earn a Ladies European Tour card, then heads to the 2024 Vic Open, from February 1 to 4, at the 13th Beach Golf Links, Barwon Heads, Victoria.
“It is the right time for me to take this next step, and I cannot wait to challenge myself at the pro level, against some of the world’s best over the course of the season,” Tan said.
The teen’s potential was already evident as an amateur in 2022 as she became the first Singaporean to qualify for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. She also secured an impressive runner-up finish at the 2022 Queen Sirikit Cup and was the low amateur on the 2022 Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open on the KLPGA.
Top four to play at HSBC Women’s event
The world’s top four ranked players, Lilia Vu, Yin Ruoning, Celine Boutier and Minjee Lee, will headline the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club next month.
Joining two-time major winner and defending champion Jin Young Ko, American world No 1 Vu will be looking to build on her breakout 2023 season, during which she won the first and last majors of the year.
Vu finished in the top 15 last time out in Singapore, and said she had “loved the atmosphere”.
China’s Yin and France’s Boutier shot up the rankings after securing their first major titles at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship respectively. Lee, a two-time major winner, finished her year strongly, winning two out of the final four events of the season.
Yin said she could not wait to make her debut at “Asia’s major”.
“Lots of the players tell me it’s their favourite week of the year so I can’t wait to get there and experience it for myself,” she said.
