Lucky No. 13
Perez takes surprise lead despite average round
FRIDAY the 13th may not be an unlucky day after all for American Pat Perez.
Not even the rain could stop the 41-year-old from going on birdie binge to fire a seven-under 65 and claim the halfway stage lead of the CIMB Classic at the TPC Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Play at the US$7mil (RM29.5mil) championship was halted by inclement weather. Play was suspended for three hours and 48 minutes before resuming at 2.14pm.
But even that did not prove to be a distraction for world No. 31 Perez as he traded eight birdies – with six of them coming over the last eight holes – against a lone bogey to get to a 13-under 131 total and one stroke clear of compatriot Xander Schaufelle.
Australian Cameron Smith failed to hold on to his overnight lead after struggling to a 71 for nine-under 135. He was joined by South Korea's Kang Sung-hoon (68) and Belgium's Thomas Pieters (67).
Perez could not believe that he was in the lead. “It’s actually surprising. I don’t think I played that well,” said Perez.
“I got off to a slow start. I was one-over through three holes and then birdied the 13th and 14th after starting from the 10th.
“Overall, it wasn’t a great ball-striking day. But I scrambled well and got the most out of my round. I just made some decent shots and putted pretty well. “My short game was good, so that saved me.” Perez is chasing his third PGA Tour crown after last triumphing at the OHL Classic in Mayakoba, Mexico, last November. But he doesn’t intend to get carried away.
“I’m not going to worry about winning too much. If you put too much pressure on yourself, it usually doesn’t work well,” he explained.
“I’m just going to go out there and try to stay calm and have fun. I’m just happy to be over here and playing well. We’ll see what happens.”
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Schaufelle was pleased to stay in the title mix.
The 23-year-old is hoping to make it two wins out of two, having captured the Tour Championship in Georgia three weeks ago.
“I just came off a win back in Atlanta and my expectations have risen a little bit,” he admitted.
Smith, meanwhile, is upbeat about his chances despite losing the lead.
“After the rain delay, I struggled to get into rhythm. But I hung in there,” he said.
“I’ve still got a good opportunity over the weekend. Just got to stick to my guns.”
It’s actually surprising. I don’t think I played that well. Overall, it wasn’t a great ball-striking day.
Pat Perez