Superb opening rounds of 62, nine under par, earned Fredrik Andersson and Arjun Atwal a share of the first round lead in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open at the Mines Resort and Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur.
The Mines Resort is offering a 24 carat gold trophy to the first player to break to existing course record of 63 but with preferred lies in place, neither score counted. Nevertheless their scores were enough to earn them a one stroke lead over Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot in the event jointly sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian PGA Tour.
Atwal, winner of last year’s Caltex Singapore Masters, presented by Carlsberg, posted the clubhouse target when he returned matching halves of 31. Starting at the tenth, the 29 year old Indian, the first player from the sub continent to win on The European Tour International Schedule, birdied the 11th before a four birdie run from the 14th put him among the leaders. A second run of four consecutive birdies from the third catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard on nine under par.
“Everything went well,” he said. “I drove the ball well, put myself on a lot of fairways and then putted really well which was the key. I killed the par fives and it was a lot of fun.”
Andersson, by contrast enjoyed plenty of luck in his 62, particularly on the par four sixth hole, his 15th, where he pulled his drive into the bushes, managed to knock a seven iron out 35 yards short of the hole and then pitched in for his ninth birdie of the round.
Andersson is coached by Rickard Fors, who also coaches Fredrik Jacobson, and having seen the success he has had with his fellow Swede, Andersson feels ready to take the next step up.
“I haven’t played that well this year but the game has been feeling better. Even though I haven’t had the results I was hoping it was going to come and I had a lot of fun out there today.”
Srirot picked up six birdies before picking up an eagle on the par five 17th, holing from 25 feet following his three wood approach shot.
“I drove the ball well but missed a couple of birdie chances on two of the par fives which was disappointing,” said Srirot. “But I have not played for three weeks and feel rested and relaxed out there today.”
Late in the day Oh, playing in the last group, moved to seven under after pickinh up eight birdies and dropping just the one shot.
Simon Dyson was another player who enjoyed his fair share of good fortune, twice chipping, firstly for an eagle on the third and then for a birdie on the ninth, on his way to posting a six under par 65. Dyson, a Member of the victorious 1999 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team, won the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit in 2000 after winning three times, a performance which earned him the Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year accolades.
“It’s good to be back in Asia,” said Dyson. “I’ve got a lot of friends over here and it’s nice to get off to a good start. I haven’t been playing that well recently and this has given me some confidence.”
Joining Dyson on six under par was Italy’s Alessandro Tadini, a graduate from last year’s European Tour Qualifying School, playing his second event of the season and fist this year. The former Italian Amateur Champion recorded a personal record of six consecutive birdies in a flying start to his rookie season.
Also on six under par is Taiwan’s Yeh Wei-Tze, the 2000 Carlsberg Malaysian Open champion, and Sweden’s Daniel Chopra while the 1997 champion and former European Number One Lee Westwood is among the group a further shot back.
Also on five under par are the two tournament favourites, the World Number Five and current European Tour Number One Retief Goosen and the man he beat for the Harry Vardon Trophy last season, Padraig Harrington. Harrington has an impressive record in Malaysia, finishing runner-up in two of the last three years, and after a nine week break was delighted with his five under par 66.
“Nine weeks off and to shoot five under is just great,” said Harrington. “Very happy about that. I am surprised. But I had done the work on my game and my mind was very active so it was getting better as the days went on and it was better today. I played conservatively all day and didn’t take anything on but I took my chances when they came.”
