Australian Marcus Fraser and Spaniard Nacho Elvira yesterday fired matching 65s in hot and humid conditions to share the joint lead on the opening day of the Maybank Championship.
The pair held a one-shot advantage over the following trio of Jazz Janewattananond, Angelo Que and Matthias Schwab at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Big-hitting Belgian Thomas Pieters was lurking two strokes behind on 67, while four-time major winner Ernie Els finished the day on 68.
Former champion Fraser, who clinched the inaugural edition in 2016, fired eight birdies — including an amazing 20-foot putt at the par-three seventh hole — to take a share of the lead.
“I’m definitely a part-time golfer these days. It’s nice to go out on the golf course and it doesn’t mean as much as it used to,” Fraser said. “I was more surprised than anyone going out there and shooting seven-under.”
Elvira kept pace with Fraser thanks to a good start, which included four birdies in his first eight holes.
“I’m happy with the way things are going, happy to be turning around my golf game a little bit,” Elvira said.
Que was heading for the top of the leaderboard after an impressive nine birdies in his first 11 holes, but consecutive double-bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes derailed his advantage.
“I thought I was dreaming when I got to nine-under after 11 holes, but these things happen, especially when you play well,” he said.
Defending champion Shubhankar Sharma finished the day tied for 41st after managing only a one-under-par 71.
Padraig Harrington, making a first appearance this year after his nomination as new Ryder Cup captain, finished tied for 26th with a 70.
Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang and Lu Wei-chih finished in a group tied for 82nd on one-over 73, while Chan Shih-chang was tied for 148th after carding an eight-over 80.
The US$3 million event is cosanctioned by the European and Asian tours.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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