Shah Alam: Locals Nicholas Fung, Shaaban Hussin, Danny Chia and S. Sivachandhran stayed in touch with clubhouse leader Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand in the weather-hit opening round of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Wednesday.
Pint-sized Fung led the local charge with an impressive three-under-par 69 and is three shots off the pace in the RM1.2 million (approximately US$395,000) Asian Tour event at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.
Shaaban, Chia and 2010 Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit winner Sivachandhran, carded matching 69s to ensure a strong presence of Malaysians at the top of the leaderboard.
Fung posted five birdies against two bogeys at Kota Permai, a venue which he says suits his game. “I’m hitting it consistently now. My tee shots are better than previously. Just staying out of trouble. I’ve got confidence and hope to finish well in this event. I like this golf course, it’s nice and not overly long. Fairways are quite narrow which suit my game and you don’t need to hit it long,” he said.
“I was really happy with my shot-making and putting, which helped me a lot. I didn’t make any really long putts. Birdied three of the par fives and birdied two of the par threes. Longest putt was probably from 15 feet on the fourth hole. The green speed was very nice and it’s soft. It was nice.”
Shaaban, who started his day from the 10th tee, rediscovered his putting touch after the turn with three birdies and one bogey on the ninth hole. He was even-par with one birdie and one bogey on his first nine.
“It is difficult to predict the speed of your putts. If you can control your putts and adapt to the speed, then you will get a good score here,” said Shaaban, who was in contention at the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic earlier this year before finishing tied 13th.
“I need to improve my putting stroke. I hit good shots but couldn’t convert my putts. I was struggling to adapt to the green speeds. I played much better later in the round so I hope I can continue my form in the following days,” he added.
