England’s Lee Westwood set about ending a two-year winless drought with a seven under par 65 on the opening day of the storm affected Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.
Westwood, who turns 41 in a week, began his round at the 10th with a bogey but then ended with four birdies over his closing five holes including the last three to take the clubhouse lead at the Kuala Lumpur Country Club course.
The effort by the current World No. 36 and the highest-ranked player in the $US 2.75m event, comes after Westwood secured his best finish of the year in being placed seventh in the Masters at Augusta National.
“I played well,” said Westwood. “I didn’t make the best of starts bogeying the par five tenth, the first hole of the day, but fortunately that didn’t set the tone for the day. I hit it really well and hit it close a lot.
Lee Westwood posts a 65 in his first Maybank Malaysian Open appearance in seven years. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
“I had to be patient because I was hitting good putts and they weren’t going in. I holed one from about eight feet on my 16th, 25 feet on the second last hole and a nice 15 footer with a bit of curl on the last.
“It was a good round of golf in tricky conditions. It’s obviously very hot and you have to keep hydrated. The course is soft so it’s playing its longest, and the greens are firm – it’s testament to how good the construction of the greens are when you consider the rain we’ve had over the past couple of days.
“I played well in Houston the week before the Masters and used that momentum going into the Masters. I played well last week in finishing seventh, and I was happy to carry that on today.”
“I started playing well again by finishing 17th in Houston and then to finish seventh in the Masters
Westwood’s only bogey in an event he captured in 1997 and then lost in a play-off a year later was an opening hole bogey and also in a tournament he has not competed in for seven years.
Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts also returned to form as he also looks to win for a first time in some two years.
Colsaerts overcame a neck injury that forced him out after the first round of last fortnight’s Shell Houston Open.
The former Ryder Cup star, who has slipped to 131st in the world, capped his round with three birdies in a row from his fifth hole.
“I’ve felt I’ve played pretty well since early in the season, but there’s always been a stretch of holes where I’ve shot myself in the foot for some reason,” said Colsaerts.
“I’ve missed good opportunities to have good weeks. So the plan is to come back here to get some momentum and confidence back.”
Portugal’s Ricardo Santos and Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey signed for five under par 67 in the co-sanctioned European and Asian Tour event.
Defending title holder Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand shot a 71 and 2012 champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa a 72.
A tropical downpour just prior to 4pm local time forced an hour and 18 minutes delay and with poor light later halting play.
It left 45 players in the 156-player field still to complete their first round when play resumed early Friday morning local time.
