A shaky start
Mixed bag of results for Malaysians on opening day
DANNY Chia birdied two of his last three holes to emerge as the best Malaysian performer with a two-under 70 on the first day of the CIMB Classic at the TPC Kuala Lumpur.
Danny started by bogeying the first two holes. But birdies on the third, sixth and eighth helped put him one-under at the turn.
The two-time Asian Tour winner dropped a shot on the 15th but salvaged his day with birdies on the 16th and 18th for a share of 23rd spot.
“I played into the rough in my first two shots but I recovered well.
“I’m happy to finish with a two-under. Except for the first two holes, I played a solid game.
“For tomorrow (today), I'll try to calm myself down on the first few holes and try to keep to the greens,” said Danny, who is still the best Malaysian finisher in the CIMB Classic after tying for 13th in the 2011 edition at the Mines Resort and Golf Club.
Nicholas Fung carded a 72 yesterday for a share of 44th while Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Gavin Kyle Green had a poor opening day.
Gavin, who won the Mercuries Taiwan Masters for his first Asian Tour title early this month, could only manage a one-over 73 for a share of 60th.
“I was cruising fine but had kind of a horrible finish. I made a double bogey on the seventh and another bogey on the ninth. I also missed so many putts. It was just a tough finish for me,” said the 23-year-old Gavin, who believes that being patient could give him better result today.
“You can’t be over-aggressive. Otherwise, the course is going to punish you.
“You have to be very patient. I stayed patient in the last couple of holes.
“It was a bad tee shot on the seventh which cost me a double. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be one-under. And if it wasn’t for the bogey at ninth, I would be two-under.
“Like I said, if you're out of place on the tee shot, it’s going to punish you.”