Golf:Challenge Tour graduate Rhys Davies sparkled on the opening day of the Maybank Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club to share the first-round lead with Spain's Ignacio Garrido. Peter Lawrie is best of the Irish after four birdies and a bogey left the Dubliner on three under par.
Lawrie’s 69 was four better than Darren Clarke, who undid two birdies in the first three holes with three dropped shots over the fifth and sixth. Two more followed on 11 and 15 before closing birdies at the 17th and 18th left the 41-year-old signing for a 73.
Gary Murphy endured a miserable day after shooting the front nine 40. Matters got even worse as the Kilkenny professional double-bogeyed 11 and 13 before a birdie at 14 brought him back to six over with one hole to play.
Davies (24), whose best finish this season was sixth in Abu Dhabi, blazed a flawless seven under 65.
“I’ve had two weeks off since India so you don’t know how you are going to come back after that. I had a decent showing in the Middle East before India and I think that was important for me,” said Davies.
“I had a couple of good scores in Abu Dhabi and I fed off that. That is the key for me, when I start to make some birdies I want to take advantage of the fact I am playing well in that moment and really push on and make as many (birdies) as possible.”
The Welshman picked-up no less than five birdies on the easier front nine, including three consecutive birdies from the fifth.
A sixth birdie of the day came at the 10th but had to wait until the 17th for his final birdie of the day before signing for 65. He shares the lead alongside Spain’s Ignacio Garrido, whose card showed six birdies, an eagle at the third and just one dropped shot at the seventh.
Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee from Thailand and South Korea’s Kim Dae-Hyun share third on six under.
“I didn’t actually have the best warm-up so I wasn’t striking the ball as well as I would have liked so I tried not to think about it,” added Davies. “I think the fact I made a few birdies early on was important and I just pushed on from there.
Davies cut his teeth on the Asian Tour in 2008 with three top-10 finishes and, after claiming second at the Thailand Open last year, posted two wins on the Challenge Tour to finish fourth on the Order of Merit to earn his full tour card despite playing the fewest events of the top 20.
“Playing a lot in Asia before has helped a little bit. It is really hot and very demanding, but you just have to tell yourself that it is the same for everyone,” he said.
“Even the local players are finding it tough. It is something everyone has got to deal with and it’s not as though I dread it, I feel fairly comfortable.”
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship quarter-finalist Jaidee struggled down the stretch with a pair of late bogeys to share second alongside Kim, who picked up five shots over his final five holes.
Kim’s compatriot KJ Choi dropped his only shot of the day at the last to card a five under par 67 alongside Spain’s Alejandro Canizares, Dane Mark Haastrup and England’s Mark Foster.
Of the afternoon starters, only a resurgent Thomas Bjorn, fresh from top-15 finishes in his last two events, made an impact on the leaderboard to join a large contingent rounding out the top 10 at four under, although 30 players will have to complete their first rounds tomorrow after a thunderstorm ended play for the day.