Shah Alam, Selangor: Malaysian ace Danny Chia overcame a stiff neck by shooting a bogey-free five-under-par 67 to take the opening round lead at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Classic on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Chia posted five birdies, four of which came on his homeward nine, for a one-shot lead over an in-form James Bowen of the United States, who won his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in Malaysia two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Malaysians Iain Steel and Kenneth De Silva shared third on matching 69s in the year\u2019s third ADT event staged at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club with a prize fund of US$65,000 (approximately RM200,000).<\/p>\n
Chia, a winner on the Asian Tour, admits he was fortunate to return with his score despite pulling a muscle during warm-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m quite fortunate to come out with my score. I went to see a doctor after my round and my neck isn\u2019t so stiff now. I\u2019ve been working with my coach in the last five months so I\u2019m striking the ball a bit better,\u201d said the 40-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe golf course is in good condition but the greens are a bit challenging. When you miss on the wrong side of the green, you will have a difficult chance of getting up-and-down,\u201d added Chia.<\/p>\n
Bowen, the current ADT Order of Merit leader, took advantage of a \u2018phenomenal\u2019 short game as he launched his bid to notch a unique Malaysian double.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hit it all over the place but my putter was just red hot. When I had a birdie putt I made them. My short game was absolutely phenomenal. My confidence is just very high at the moment,\u201d said Bowen.<\/p>\n
The Official World Golf Ranking will be used to determine the field when golf makes a return to the Olympics in Rio De Janeiro in 2016.<\/p>\n
All winners on the ADT will receive a minimum of six world ranking points while the top-six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.<\/p>\n
First round scores
67 – Danny CHIA (MAS)
68 – James BOWEN (USA)
69 – Iain STEEL (MAS) , Kenneth DE SILVA (MAS)
70 – Michael BIBAT (PHI) , CHANG Tse-Peng (TPE) , S. Murthy (MAS) , Grant JACKSON (ENG) , Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA)
71 – George GANDRANATA (INA) , Mitsuhiko HASHIZUME (JPN) , Mohamad Azman BASHARUDIN (MAS) , PARK Il-hwan (KOR) , Mars PUCAY (PHI) , Ryan BULLOCH (AUS) , George THACKER (ENG) , Blake MCGRORY (AUS) , Takuya YAMAUCHI (JPN)
72 – KOH Deng Shan (SIN) , Rizal AMIN (MAS) , Prin SIRISOMMAI (THA) , Mitchell SLORACH (SIN) , R. Nachimuthu (MAS) , Akhmal TARMIZEE (MAS)
73 – Adam SHAW (MAS) , S. Siva Chandhran (MAS) , Kazumi TAKAHASHI (JPN) , Clarke LUTTON (SCO) , Nicholas FUNG (MAS) , Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) , Shaifubari MUDA (MAS) , Chirat JIRASUWAN (THA) , Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) , Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) , Daniel BRINGOLF (AUS) , Ratchapol JANTAVARA (THA) , A. Sasar (MAS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shah Alam, Selangor: Malaysian ace Danny Chia overcame a stiff neck by shooting a bogey-free five-under-par 67 to take the opening round lead at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Classic on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Chia posted five birdies, four of which came on his homeward nine, for a one-shot lead over an in-form James Bowen of the United States, who won his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in Malaysia two weeks ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n