Johor Bahru: Reigning Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) number one Nicholas Fung fired a six-under-par 66 to grab the joint first round lead with Wolmer Murillo of Venezuela at the PGM Maybank Johor Masters on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old Sabahan traded seven birdies against a lone bogey on his last hole at the Johor Country Club to put himself in position to win a first title on the Asian Development Tour, which is the feeder circuit to the established Asian Tour.

Newcomer Murillo also enjoyed a strong start as he carded eight birdies against two drop shots to share the opening round honours with Fung, who was a runner-up at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters last month.

American James Bowen, the current ADT Order of Merit leader and Johorean Rashid Ismail are tied for third on the back of matching 67s while Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Tung-shu and England’s Grant Jackson are a further shot back in the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) co-sanctioned tournament.

Titleholder Luke Bleumink of Australia started his defence with a solid 69 which included four birdies.

Fung, who earned his Asian Tour card from the Qualifying School in January, opted to play in Johor this week after missing three straight cuts at the Maybank Malaysian Open, Chiangmai Golf Classic and Panasonic Open India on the leading Asian circuit in successive weeks.

He was delighted his decision paid off with a solid start in Johor. “I wanted to play in Malaysia to build back some confidence after missing three straight cuts. I hit it good today and made some putts. The irons were working well,” said Fung.

The highlight of his round came at the par four 12th hole when he missed the green and his ball ended on the fringe of the jungle without a sight to the flag. However, Fung amazingly chipped in for birdie although he was disappointed to bogey the demanding 18th hole which would have given him the outright lead.

“I got lucky on 12 as I couldn’t see the pin from where I was. Somehow, I managed to chip the ball into the hole for birdie which was a bonus as I was staring at a bogey,” said Fung. “18 is a very tough hole and I didn’t hit a very good chip and just missed the putt.”

Wolmer, who missed out on his Asian Tour card from Qualifying School, thanked a hot putter for his good round. “I just dropped a lot of birdie putts which was nice. The greens were rolling really good and I took advantage as I hit almost every fairway and green in regulation,” said Wolmer.

Unlike Fung, Wolmer finished strongly with two closing birdies. “The last birdie was good as I had 203 yards into a difficult green but I managed to hit it to about three meters and made the putt. It was a very fast putt,” he said.

Leading first round scores (Malaysians unless stated)
66 – Wolmer Murillo (VEN), Nicholas Fung
67 – James Bowen (USA), Rashid Ismail
68 – Hsieh Tung-shu (TPE), Grant Jackson (ENG)
69 – Hendre Izak Celliers (RSA) 69, Akhmal Tarmizee Nazari, Darren Tan (AUS), Jakraphan Premsirigorn (THA), Luke Bleumink (AUS), Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN), Iain Steel (MAS), Spencer Shishido (USA)