KUALA LUMPUR: Sukree Othman birdied four of his last six holes for a five-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead after the first round of the CIMB National Championship at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East course on Tuesday.
The 42-year-old Sukree produced a bogey-free card to edge ahead of Nachimuthu Ramasamy, Alex Tiong Wei Zen, Jeremiah Kim Leunkwang and Amir Nazrin Jailani, who returned identical 67s, in the RM200,000 tournament.
The qualifier will reward the winner with a spot in next month’s US$7 million CIMB Classic – the only PGA Tour tournament held in Southeast Asia.
Leading first round scores (Par-71)
66 – Sukree Othman
67 – Nachimuthu Ramasamy, Alex Tiong, Jeremiah Kim Leunkwang, Amir Nazrin Jailani
69 – Kenneth Tobuse, Faizul Hafiz Zulkefli, Shaifubari Muda
70 – Chan Soo Keong, Akhmal Tarmizee Nazari
71 – Shahriffuddin Ariffin, Muhd Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf
72 – Sasidaran Muthiah, Kenneth De Silva, Nazri Majid, Mohd Rizal Amin
After turning in one-under with a birdie on the third hole, Sukree’s game caught fire late in his round as he reeled in three straight birdies on 13, 14 and 15 before signing off with another closing birdie on 18.
“I drove it well and hit my irons consistently. I struggled with my putting early on and then got lucky on the back nine where I holed putts of 20 feet and 15 feet on 13 and 14,” said the nine-time Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour winner.
“I’ve tried to qualify for the CIMB Classic ever year … last year, I came in fifth so hopefully I can get it done this week. It’s a great chance to play against PGA Tour players as we’ll never get a chance to play in America.”
Amir, 21, shot seven birdies against three bogeys to stay on Sukree’s heels. Last year, he finished third, one shot behind the playoff duo of Danny Chia and Gavin Green, and is hoping to keep up his chase for a first PGA Tour start at the CIMB Classic.
“The main goal is to win, but in the first few days, it’ll be important to keep up with the chase and stay in position,” he said. “I’ll try to keep my momentum going and minimise my mistakes.”
The surprise of the day came from Tiong – a 29-year-old who gave up full-time touring to become a teaching professional. He stayed bogey-free and shot four birdies for T2 position.
“I putted really well, and kept ball on the fairway and hit 16 greens which is pretty good. On my front nine, I hit every green but nothing dropped until the 18th hole for my first birdie and then I made three more birdies on the back nine. This is a nice surprise,” said Tiong.
The CIMB Classic will be held at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s West course from October 11 to 14 where it is the second leg of the 2018-19 PGA Tour season.
