Sungai Petani: The unheralded pair of Wilson Choo and Mohd Amli Mohd Mohiyadeen stunned the field as they took the joint lead after the completion of the first round of the RM125,000 Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Sime Darby Harvard Classic today.
Choo and Amli both carded rounds of 68 at the Harvard Golf & Country Club to register an early one-stroke advantage over the more experienced trio of Khor Kheng Hwai, Shaifubari Muda and S. Murthy in the season-opening tournament. A further stroke behind in third was Anis Helmi Abu Hassan and Danny Chia while Haziq Hamizan, Md Rashid Ismail and a further five players were bunched on 70.
Defending champion Sukree Othman could only post an opening even-par 72 alongside 2011 Order of Merit winner R. Nachimuthu.
Former national junior Mohd Amli got off to a poor start with a bogey on the second but hit the birdie trail with a first on the third before adding a further two to make the turn on 34. A flawless inward nine of 33, including birdies at 12th, 13th and 15th saw him set the clubhouse lead at five-under.
This was quickly matched by Choo, who rode on a solid start from the back nine with an opening birdie before mixing a further six birdies against two bogeys on the par-four 16th and seventh to tie for the lead.
“I just kept the rhythm going after that opening birdie. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than just sticking to my game plan and I’m glad that I managed seven birdies to offset the two dropped shots,” said the 23-year-old Choo.
“It’s obviously a great start to the new year, we’re in a new season and it was part of my aspiration this year to register under-par scores, so I can’t ask for more. The green speed is improving by the day and I just want to pace myself, not get carried away and hopefully, last the distance,” added the Kuala Lumpur-based player.
A total of 62 players including eight amateurs started the tournament with Terengganu amateur Ong Jay Vie carding a best of 72. The opening leg of the 2012 season also witnessed a first, with Khor Kheng Hwai notching his first-ever competitive hole-in-one with a 4-iron shot into the pin on the par-three fourth.
First round scores (top ten and ties)
67 – Mohd Amli Mohd Mohayideen, Wilson Choo
68 – Khor Kheng Hwai, Shaifubari Muda, S. Murthy
69 – Anis Helmi Abu Hassan, Danny Chia
70 – Haziq Hamizan, Md Rashid Ismail, M. Adam Shafiq, Mohd Nazri Mohd Zain, Nicholas Pua, Chan Soo Keong, Solhairy Shariff
