Lee Westwood of England drives the ball on the sixth hole during the opening day of the Maybank Malaysian Open golf tournament in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. (AFP)
AFP/Kuala Lumpur
Lee Westwood fired eight birdies to surge to the first-round lead of the Malaysian Open yesterday with a seven-under par 65, staying sharp after a solid performance at last week’s Masters.
Big-hitting Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium was just a stroke back on 66 after matching the Englishman’s birdie count but falling short due to a pair of bogeys on day one at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Westwood, who managed a seventh-place finish at the Masters on Sunday, stumbled out of the blocks in Malaysia with a bogey on his first hole of the day.
But he kept a clean card the rest of the way by sinking some long putts and ending the day with three straight birdies.
“Yes, I played well. I didn’t start off well, bogeying the par-five 10th, but fortunately that didn’t set the tone for the day,” he said. “I hit it really well and hit it close a lot.
“I played well last week, and am happy to carry that on today. It’s nice to have a good start and build some momentum for the week,” said Westwood, who won the Malaysian Open in 1997.
Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland and Ricardo Santos of Portugal were two shots back of Westwood at the $2.75 million event, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa had a steady round but ended the day seven shots back on even-par 72, with his two birdies cancelled out by a pair of bogeys.
Most golfers completed the round, but a rain delay of about an hour meant that a number were still on the course with several holes to go when play was called due to fading light. They will finish their first rounds early Friday.
Defending champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat got out to an even slower start than Westwood, with a bogey and double bogey on the front nine.
But the burly young Thai, last year’s Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, clawed his way back to a one-under 71 thanks to three birdies in the last six holes.
Kiradech said the weather delay gave him a chance to settle down and smooth out his tempo.
“I have to thank the evening rain for playing a part in my improvement on the back nine,” he said.
His compatriot Thongchai Jaidee also struggled early with three bogeys on his first six holes. But the tournament’s two-time champion righted the ship with six birdies the rest of the way to close at even-par 72 and keep Westwood in sight.
LEADING 1ST-ROUND SCORES
65 - Lee Westwood (ENG)
66 - Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
67 - Michael Hoey (NIR), Ricardo Santos (POR)
68 - Jbe Kruger (RSA), Julien Quesne (FRA)
69 - Edoardo Molinari (ITA), Richard T. Lee (CAN), Prayad Marksaeng (THA), Soren Hansen (DEN), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Eduardo de la Riva (ESP), Craig Lee (SCO), Thaworn Wiratchant (THA)
70 - Prom Meesawat (THA), Bryce Easton (RSA), Scott Hend (AUS), Baek Seuk-hyun (KOR), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Raphael Jacquelin (FRA), Wade Ormbsy (AUS), Arnond Vongvanij (THA), Antonio Lascuna (PHI)
71 - Elmer Salvador (PHI), Francesco Molinari (ITA), S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND), Marco Crespi (ITA), Anthony Kang (USA), Garth Mulroy (RSA), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Matteo Manassero (ITA)
Cibulkova romps into quarters
Top seed Dominika Cibulkova stormed past Hsieh Su-Wei yesterday at the BMW Malaysian Open for her WTA-leading 22nd match win of the year, passing Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska.
Cibulkova, who is the Slovakian world number 10, came out like a house on fire as she stormed through the first set despite another rain-delayed day.
Just like in her first round match against Turkey’s Pemra Ozgen, she had a slight hiccup, allowing Taiwan’s tennis hero Hsieh to win two games in a row to make it 2-2.
But the 25-year-old Cibulkova bounced right back, winning four games in a row to end it, 6-1 6-2 in just over 70 minutes.
Cibulkova had been tied for WTA-level match win leader for the year with Li and Radwanska at 21, but is now the stand-alone leader.
And with three more rounds potentially, she could go as high as 25 wins here.
Awaiting Cibulkova, who is seeking her fifth career WTA Tour title, in the quarter-finals will be number six seed Zarina Diyas, who won her second round match on Wednesday.
Meanwhile second seed Zhang Shuai of China overcame a second set blemish to reach the quarter-finals.
Zhang Shuai, the world number 45, notched her second straight win over Hong Kong’s Zhang Ling 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 to set-up a quarter-final match against Poland’s Magda Linette on Friday.
In the first set, Zhang Shuai, the reigning Asian Games women’s singles champion, started impressively—breaking Zhang Ling’s serve twice for the advantage.
