Puchong: Unheralded A. Sasar surprised the seasoned campaigners by grabbing the opening round lead at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Kinrara Championship on Monday.

The 39-year-old, who works as a caddie at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) and has been a pro for five years, is two shots in front of Shaaban Hussin in the RM160,000 tournament.

Md Rashid Ismail posted a 69 for third spot while M. Sasidaran, Akhmal Tarmizee, R. Nachimuthu and Anis Helmi Hassan all carded identicals 69s to take a share of fourth.

“I am very happy with how I played today. I was hitting the ball very well and my putting was also very good. Actually, I had 25 putts in my round – 10 on the front nine and 15 on the back,” said Sasar.

The Kedah-born golfer, who traded seven birdies against one bogey, said he was not surprised with his performance, adding that he would not get carried away. “That is all that I can do. I will just try to play my own game and do my best tomorrow (Tuesday),” he said.

Leading First Round Scores

65 – A. Sasar
67 – Shaaban Hussin
68 – Md Rashid Ismail
69 – M. Sasidaran, Akhmal Tarmizee, R. Nachimuthu, Anis Helmi Hassan
70 – Iain Steel, Shaifubari Muda, Mohd Nazri Mohd Zain, Sukree Othman, Khor Kheng Howe, Arie Irawan, Muhammad Adam Shafiq, Rahizam Ramli
71 – Kemarol Baharin, Kenneth De Silva, Dinata Abdillah, Nicholas Fung, Hans Jamil, Kenneth Tobuse, Tan Chien Hau, Muhammad Alwarith Damian, Khor Kheng Hwai