Lafeber leads Singh and Coles at Saujana

Dutchman Maarten Lafeber leads Masters champion Vijay Singh and England’s Robert Coles by a shot after an opening 67, five under par, in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

The former Swiss, Dutch and Spanish Amateur Champion took advantage of some local knowledge gleaned from a golfing holiday in Malaysia six years ago to set the early pace after completing his last nine holes, the front nine on the card, in just 30 strokes.

An opening nine of 37 gave little hint of what was to come but the 26-year-old started to find his range with the putter to roll in six birdie putts coming home, the longest of which came from some 30 feet.

Lafeber graduated from the Challenge Tour in 1999 and is no stranger to Malaysia having played nine courses including Saujana while on holiday in 1996 and he also represented his country in the 1999 World Cup at The Mines Resort, Kuala Lumpur.

“I knew it was going to be tough around the greens and I needed to hit the right spots to have a chance of birdies,” said Lafeber. “I had a couple of three putts on the front nine but on the back nine I was putting well and they started dropping in the hole. I just tried to hit the ball in the right part of the greens and managed to hole the birdie putts.”

Singh, the reigning Masters champion whose first international victory came in Malaysia in 1984, shot a flawless 68 to lie just a shot off the pace. Singh picked up four birdies after hitting every green in regulation. Nevertheless, the Fijian still missed a handful of birdie putts, which could have given him the lead.

“I’m very pleased with the way I started,” said Singh. “I could have got one or two more but it is only the first day.

“There is nothing wrong with my putting, it’s just reading the greens. You need to know the undulations and see the grains. You need to be patient. I’m not really worried about the leaderboard right now. I just want to play solid golf and start looking at that come the weekend.”

Also on four under par is Coles after run of three birdies around the turn on the 18th, first and second, got his round going. Coles twice finished in the top ten last season but found himself back at the Qualifying School for a third successive year after suffering a dip in form in the second half of the season. He bounced back to claim the third card but is keen to avoid another trip to southern Spain this November.

“I was very disappointed not to keep my card last year,” he commented. “I had played well up to the Open but very poorly after that. Now everybody wants to get off to a good start. Certainly nobody wants to go back to the Tour School but I’m making a bit of a habit of it now. It would be nice to get going and gain some confidence.

“I got off to a good start today but was flagging a bit at the end. The heat started to take it out of me.”

Among the group of six players a shot further back is New Zealand’s Michael Campbell, winner of six tournaments in the past 18 months including victory at The Vines Resort in Perth a fortnight ago. A birdie, birdie finish keeps him very much in the hunt but the highlight of his round was undoubtedly on the short fourth where he holed his second shot from 81 yards for an eagle two.

“It’s the first time I’ve holed a shot for a long time – it must be at least nine years,” said Campbell. “The round was full of good and bad shots. I made too many mistakes but I’ve got a good foundation to work from. Two shots behind after the first round so I’m happy with that.”

Also on 69 were Costantino Rocca, Soren Hansen and Justin Hobday with Zaw Moe and Wang Ter-chang leading the Asian challenge on the same mark.

Double major winner John Daly eagled the last for a level par 72. Play was suspended with five groups left out on the course due to a thunderstorm.