Kiradech Aphibarnrat took another big step toward turning around a disappointing year with an opening-round 65 at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China.
It wasn't too long ago that the burly Thai was inside the top 50 in the world rankings and playing in majors, having peaked at No. 37 following the 2016 Masters. But he has largely struggled since then, at one point dropping outside the OWGR top 150 and relegated to playing this year entirely on the European and Asian tours.
Aphibarnrat started to show signs of his old form with a T-9 finish at the KLM Open in the Netherlands last month, then built upon that with a runner-up showing behind Tyrrell Hatton at the Italian Open two weeks ago.