A searing hot afternoon did not deter Lee Westwood from playing another great round with only one blemish to end the second day tied in first place at eleven under par (-11) as Spaniard Alejendro Canizares with a flawless seven birdies boogey free round to join him after a f round of 65.
Highlighting the international flavour of the Tournament, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger continued his recent outstanding form with a well-earned 66 with seven birdies to climb up the leader board to end the day in 3rd position at eight under par (-8). Graeme McDowell felt the heat and had a 67 to follow his 66 yesterday and is still very much in the hunt.
Meanwhile Paul Waring took advantage of his early start to finish one shot better than yesterday and now at seven under par (-7) is ready to strike over the weekend. “To be honest I struggled with the heat but managed to keep my concentration right and am ready to go forward from here,” said the Englishman who celebrated his 30th birthday this week following his wedding six weeks ago.
Frenchmen Gregory Bourdy had a hole-in-one on the 15th to make the first Ace since Simon Dyson in 2009 and matched his first day’s 70 with a second round of two under par (-2).
Danny Willett, the current leader in the Race to Dubai who was recently contracted as the Saujana’s touring professional had to withdraw with a recurring back injury.
After a worrying start with three bogies on the front nine, Malaysia’s Danny Chia steadied the ship and as he said “I hit the ball well but my putting was not good today however I still fought back strong in the back nine.”
All in all it was an encouraging day for the home side as five Malaysians made the cut with the majority of the rest improving on their previous day’s scores with all eyes on the Green siblings with Gavin scoring four birdies on the front nine to erase his overnight deficit finishing at two under par (-2) and although brother Galvin had a 74 which was not enough to play at the weekend, he had four birdies and played better than the day before.
Sukree Othman had another steady round with five birdies, two bogies and a double to finish on level par and will be playing tomorrow with R.Nachimutu who came back strongly with four birdies on the back nine to finish with a one over par (+1). Although Arie Irawan improved on his 76 with a one over 73, he will no longer be part of the foray.
This year, golfers are battling for more than bragging rights as Maybank have upped the ante to mark its milestone tenth (10th) year as the event’s title sponsor. Strengthening its long-standing commitment as one of the oldest national Opens in the region, Maybank is increasing the prize purse for 2015 to US$3 million, up from the previous US$2.75 million in 2014. The tournament is taking place at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from the February 5th to the 8th.
In addition to world ranking, points earned at the Maybank Malaysian Open will contribute to the Asian Tour Order of Merit and will also count towards European Tour’s Race to Dubai 2015.
Over the years the Maybank Malaysian Open has attracted world-class golfers who have made their mark with performances by the likes of Rory Mcllroy, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel joining the field of play here.
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