The delayed first round of the Maybank Malaysian Open was concluded early on Friday morning with Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain confirming his place at the top of the leaderboard, one stroke ahead of Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant.
A total of 63 players were called in early to complete their opening rounds and for Jiménez this only required playing the 18th hole, which he parred after missing a chance for a birdie four.
The Ryder Cup player signed for an eight under par 64 but was denied the record for the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club because preferred lies are in place this week.
“I played very solid all round,” he said. “This morning I just had the one hole to play and I had a four foot putt for birdie, but I missed that one. Overall I am very satisfied with the way I played on the golf course over the 18 holes and obviously it is good to be leading at this stage. I feel good this morning, despite the early start, and I will have a short break now before my second round.”
The biggest mover on Friday morning was England’s John Bickerton, who birdied his last four holes for a six under par 66 that leaves him in third place alongside compatriot Richard Finch, Welshman Garry Houston, Australia’s Adam Le Vesconte, Francesco Molinari of Italy, Ireland’s Gary Murphy and Korean Charlie Wi.
David Park of Wales, home amateur S. Sivachandran and Thammanoon Srirot of Thailand also finished their first rounds strongly to move on to five under alongside Stephen Dodd of Wales, Australian Gary Simpson and Swedish Challenge Tour graduate Fredrik Widmark. However, joy quickly turned to despair for Sivachandran when he was disqualified for missing his second round tee time. "I went to grab some breakfast and thought I had longer than I did," he said. "I am obviously extremely disappointed but I will learn from this."
