WESTWOOD SHINES AT MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN
Lee Westwood reinforced his reputation as an Asian specialist when he fired a classy seven-under-par 65 for the first round clubhouse lead in the Maybank Malaysian Open on Thursday.
The Englishman, whose 40 career wins includes 12 in Asia plus the 1997 Malaysian Open, brilliantly birdied his last three holes at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to maintain his fine form after finishing seventh at the Masters Tournament last week.
Westwood leads by one stroke from 2012 Ryder Cup teammate Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium while Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland and Ricardo Santos of Portugal were a further two shots back at the US$2.75 million event jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
South Africa's Jbe Kruger, a winner on the Asian Tour, was a further three shots back following a 68 while EurAsia Cup hero Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand battled to a 69 for tied ninth place. Title holder Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand fought to a 71 to be six behind the leader.
The Maybank Malaysian Open was suspended in the afternoon for over an hour which means that 42 players will return at 7.40am to complete their opening rounds.
Westwood, a former world number one, opened his campaign with a bogey on the par five 10th hole but recovered with a late flourish. He birdied the seventh hole from eight feet and rammed home a huge 25-footer on eight. The Englishman completed a hat-trick of birdies with a 15-foot curler on the ninth hole.
Maybank Malaysian Open: Day 1
1. Lee Westwood 65 (-7)
2. Nicolas Colsaerts 66 (-6)
T3. Michael Hoey 67 (-5)
T3. Ricardo Santos 67 (-5)
T5. Jbe Kruger 68 (-4)
T5. Julien Quesne 68 (-4)
T5. Masahiro Kawamura 68 (-4)
T5. Scott Jamieson 68 (-4)
Comments
Post a Comment