England’s Lee Westwood shrugged off jet lag and an opening bogey to fire a superb seven-under-par 65 to lead the field after his first round at the European Tour’s Malaysian Open yesterday.
Westwood fired eight birdies in his early round at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club after completing the marathon journey from Augusta, Georgia, where he finished seventh at the US Masters on Sunday.
Former world No. 1 Westwood, now ranked 36th, is without a win since claiming the 2012 Nordea Masters in Sweden, but put himself in position to change that after grabbing a one-shot lead over Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium (66).
Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey was two shots back of Westwood in third place after a 67, with diminutive South African Jbe Kruger (68) in fourth before play was halted because of a weather warning.
Before the stoppage, former British Open champion and 2012 winner Louis Oosthuizen could only manage a level-par 72 after mixing two birdies with two bogeys.
Another former winner, Matteo Manassero of Italy, was three-under after 10 holes before the suspension, while defending champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat was two-over with eight holes remaining.
The US$2.75 million event is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, with Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng leading the continent’s charge with a 69 to sit tied fifth along with Manassero and eight others.
Taiwan’s Yeh Wei-tze shot a one-over 73, while Lu Wei-chih carded a four-over 76. Lin Wen-tang was on six-over before play was suspended and Tsai Chi-huang made a seven-over 79.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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