A knockout show

Youngster Khavish becomes second Malaysian in 15 years to lead a round at home

LUMPUR: Malaysian rookie pro Khavish Varadan (pic) continued to make heads turn with another impressive performance to take the joint lead at the half-way stage of the IRS Prima Malaysian Open at the Mines Resort and Golf Club yesterday.

Khavish came out firing to finish with a bogey free second round of six-under 65 under hot, sunny conditions.

Khavish’s total of 13-under 129 puts the 23-year-old at the top of the leaderboard together with Australian Kevin Yuan.

The play of the day belonged to Khavish, who is featuring in his first professional tournament after deciding to join the paid ranks during the Asian School Qualifying School in Thailand last month.

Khavish is only the second Malaysian in 15 years to lead a round of the nation’s biggest golf tournament. Danny Chia was the last Malaysian to be on top of the leaderboard, also at the half-way stage, when the Malaysian Open was held at Saujana Golf and Country Club back in 2009.

“My second round went according to plan. It wasn’t the easiest of rounds because the wind was swirling a little bit today and I was struggling with some numbers,” said Khavish.

“I stayed patient and was trying to birdie one every three holes and I did exactly that.

“So, I am pretty pleased with myself,” said Khavish, who made a seven-under 64 on Thursday.

Khavish decided to leave his final year of business studies at University of Alabama in United States to become a professional golfer.

The attention may be on him after being the best placed Malaysian out there but Khavish is looking forward to the weekend.

“It feels great to be in contention, obviously being a Malaysian and to win your home open is like winning a Major for me.

“I am very excited for the weekend.

“I enjoy playing professionally because it takes you to the next level and that’s where I want to be

“I just want to win and even if I finish third, the perks are good but like I said yesterday, whenever I teed it up, whether it’s a small tournament or the Masters, I am trying to win. That’s how I was brought up.

“I actually love the pressure, I put a lot of pressure on myself because if I don’t put pressure on myself, it seems like I am just playing for fun,” he added.

Khavish was not the only Malaysian who sizzled yesterday as Ervin Chang also shot up the leaderboard after a phenomenal nine-under 62.

Ervin, who turned pro after winning a historic individual gold at the Vietnam SEA Games two years ago, is just three shots off the lead with his total of 10-under 132.

“A very solid round for me. I had six birdies against one bogey and I had two eagles, could not ask for more,” said Ervin.

“It feels good to shoot this kind of round and it’s not everyday that I get such a low score.

“I am very happy with my round and feels very good going into the weekend. No Malaysian has won our home Open, so I will give my best shot,” said Ervin.

Kim Leunkwang joined Khavish and Ervin as the Malaysians to make the weekend cut after a two-under 69 yesterday.

He just pulled through with the cut at five-under.

No. 1 Malaysian Gavin Green just could not get his game going and missed the cut after a disappointing five-over 71 for a total of two-under 140.