Kuala Lumpur: Local hope Danny Chia saw his title push suffer a significant setback as Lee Westwood continued his gallant stride towards a successful Maybank Malaysian Open defence on Friday.
Chia failed to get into a rhythm as three bogeys in a disastrous front nine saw him stutter to a two-over 74 on a blistering day at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
Despite struggling to bury his putts all day, the 42-year-old returned with birdies on #8 and #16 either side of a dropped shot on #12 to remain the leading domestic challenger on three-under 141.
“It was bit of an unlucky start with that three bogeys. My ball striking was fine but I misjudged the speed of greens on a couple of occasions and didn’t convert a number of makeable putts, which proved costly. That was the only difference from yesterday,” said the one-time Asian Tour winner.
“I didn’t go out there thinking I could win the tournament today. I re-grouped after that early setback and I was pleased with the way I fought back because my round could have taken a real nose dive,” added Chia, who is targeting a top-ten finish in the national Open that will give him an early boost on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
National amateur Gavin Kyle Green, who looked out of sorts yesterday, bounced back in brilliant fashion with an impressive four-under 68 to settle for joint 21st on two-under 142, alongside compatriot Nicholas Fung, who carded a second consecutive 71.
The University of New Mexico senior shrugged off the ill effects of a cold, trading seven birdies against two bogeys to make the cut for a third consecutive year.
“I didn’t get off to the best of starts. I made a bogey on #1 but that’s fine. Usually my best rounds come when I bogey the first hole. I stayed patient and birdied the two par-fives and drained two further ones on #6 and #8. It was then that I told myself that I was good,” said the 21-year-old, who sent the gallery into a frenzy with a stunning 20-foot birdie putt on the last.
With making the cut in the rear-view window, Green has his eyes set on a going low during the weekend and earning his first top-20 finish in the US$3 million tournament.
“Nothing will stop me now. I birdied all the par-fives today, so I’ll try to do that tomorrow. I was looking a the cutline for a little while today but I’ve played on this golf course before and as long as I can hit my shots on the fairway, I knew that I will have a chance,” he noted.
Other Malaysians who progressed include Sukree Othman, who made the cut for the first time in ten attempts after a second round 71 and R. Nachimuthu (72).
Further up the leaderboard, titleholder Westwood continued to hold a share of the lead as he closed in on a third Malaysian Open title after a brilliant five-under 67 to follow-up on his opening 66.
He was joined at the summit by Spaniard Alejandro Canizares, who fired a brilliant seven-under 65 for a 11-under 133 halfway total. The pair were three strokes clear of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (66) with Englishman Paul Waring (68) and Peter Lawrie (66) of Ireland a further shot back in tied fourth.
Leading second round scores:
133 – Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-67, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 68-65
136 – Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 70-66
137 – Paul Waring (ENG) 69-68, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 71-66
138 – Richard Bland (ENG) 68-70, Richard T.Lee CAN) 69-69
139 – Graeme McDowell (NIR) 66-73
140 – Prom Meesawat (THA) 68-72, Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 70-70, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 71-69, Andy Sullivan(ENG) 70-70, Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 70-70, Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 69-71
141 – Marcus Fraser (AUS) 72-69, Marc Warren(SCO) 71-71, Kang Sung-hoon (KOR) 67-74, Danny Chia (MAS) 67-74, Paul Peterson (USA) 72-69
Malaysians as they fared – second round >
141 – Danny Chia 67-74
142 – Gavin Kyle Green 74-68, Nicholas Fung 71-71
144 – Sukree Othman 73-71
145 – R. Nachimuthu 73-72
———————— HALFWAY CUT 2-OVER 146 —————————
148 – Khor Kheng Hwai 75-73
149 – Shaifubari Muda 77-72, Arie Irawan 76-73, Airil Rizman Zahari 74-75
150 – S. Sivachandhran 74-76, Iylia Jamil 70-80, Galven Kendall Green (Am) 76-74, Daeng Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz (Am) 76-74
151 – Wilson Choo 76-75, Hans Jamil 79-72
153 – Shaaban Hussin 78-75, Ben Leong 81-72
154 – Kemarol Baharin 76-78
159 – Mohd Rizal Amin 83-76, Lam Yu Shuen 84-75
160 – Ahmad Farhan Syariff 80-80
161 – Chan Tuck Soon (Am) 81-80
