A year away has Phatam right back on course

Anendra Singh
IN CASE the Hawke's Bay golfing faithful, like SportToday, over the past year asked the question: "What ever happened to that Thai schoolboy, you know, that Supra bloke?"
Well, while his surname may have been misspelt in the Regency Duty Free Under-23 Championship New Zealand tee-off times as "Phantam" SportToday can confirm Supravee Phatam is back in the Bay.
Like the comic book character, Phantom, the ghost who walks, the former Napier Boys' High School pupil finished his schooling at the end of 2006 and decided to do a U-turn on an earlier plan to flip through text books and fiddle with computers at a tertiary level.
"I went back home to Bangkok, Thailand, last year and played golf there for a whole year," said Phatam, 19, who clocked kilometres on the fairways of the All Thailand Tour, rubbing shoulders with a group of home-grown professionals before returning to Napier just before Christmas.
It wasn't an easy introduction to the "Pro-Am type of set up" there, as he grappled with his demons after missing the cut in his first two outings. Inevitably some memorable moments were to follow.
"I came second in one tourney and learned a lot from those professionals such as hitting the balls straight and being positive all the time."
Yesterday Phatam fired a three-over par 75 in the opening round of the under-23 nationals at the Hastings Golf Club.
With plans to attend the Eastern Institute of Technology for a computing degree this year, Phatam is also keen to get back into the Bay representative teams.
Tweaking his steep swing to a flatter one with Hastings professional Brian Doyle is paramount for the Napier Golf Club member who had back problems two years ago.
However, yesterday belonged to (Napier and) Hastings Golf Club member Thomas Downey [pictured right] despite all the talk about a showdown between the New Zealand Titleist Academy pair of Danny Lee, chasing a national treble, and top Bay senior amateur Nick Gillespie.
Downey shot a two-under par 70 for a one-shot outright lead over Lee, of Rotorua, Doug Millington, of Waikato, and Michael Schofiel, of Masterton.
The 19-year-old Cape Kidnappers caddy racked up three birdies but conceded a blemish on the fifth hole, where he coped best with the southerly change.
While Gillespie, three off the pace, bemoaned a few "little basics" in his putting, an upbeat Downey put his Taupo putting woes behind him.
"It's on the day - some days it goes and some days it doesn't. I didn't hit too well [on the fairways]. I hit it wide but got it into the hole and that's what matters, eh."
The field of 154 will be cut to the top 72 players plus ties after today's round to contest the final two rounds tomorrow.