Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Malaysia\u2019s Danny Chia continued his good run of form to share the opening round clubhouse lead with compatriot Iylia Jamil on five-under-par 67 at the weather-disrupted PGM Johor Championship on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Local hope Rizal Amin was in third after signing for a 68 while Australia\u2019s Darren Tan, Singapore\u2019s Mardan Mamat and Senroku Isa of Japan shared fourth position on matching 69s at the Johor Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n
The first round of the RM200,000 (approximately US$60,000) event was abandoned at 3.30pm local time due to lightning threat. A total of 66 players will return at 7.30am on Thursday to complete their first rounds, while the second round is scheduled to start at 9.10am.<\/p>\n
Chia, who successfully defended his title for a second ADT victory at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship a fortnight ago, set the early pace with a flawless round highlighted by five birdies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to play here a lot in the past but I haven\u2019t been here for a while. The greens are tricky but the roughs are not as thick as it used to be so it\u2019s slightly easier,\u201d said Chia, who finished tied 33rd at the ICTSI Philippine Open on the Asian Tour last week.<\/p>\n
Chia, the first Malaysian to win on the Asian Tour in 2002, underwent surgery for a career-threatening shoulder injury last September and is still in the process of recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy game has been good and I feel my strength is coming back slowly but after this week, I will have to return to my rehabilitation. I\u2019m supposed to go for rehabilitation every day but I haven\u2019t done so for the past three weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main priority this year is to recover fully from my shoulder injury so I will take some time off to rest after this week,\u201d explained the 41-year-old Malaysian.<\/p>\n
Malaysia\u2019s Iylia also returned with a bogey-free round after taking advantage of his familiarity with the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been playing here since I was 14 years old and I finished third in a local event here back in 2011. I\u2019m quite familiar with the course. Everything went well for me so hopefully I can stay consistent throughout the week,\u201d said the 23-year-old, whose best result on the ADT was tied-seventh at the PGM MIDF KLGCC Masters last season.<\/p>\n
Rizal, who traded six birdies against a double-bogey, believes that patience is the key to success this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played really well on my back nine even though I double-bogeyed the 15th. I managed to recover with two straight birdies right after that. It wasn\u2019t easy. The weather was hot in the morning. I just have to stay patient and continue to stick to my own game plan for the next few rounds,\u201d said Rizal.<\/p>\n
Working in close partnership with the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, a total of 12 PGM events will feature on this season\u2019s ADT Schedule, giving Malaysian players a big incentive in chasing for a place on the region\u2019s main Tour.<\/p>\n
The ADT, which was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011, 13 in 2012 and a record 16 in the 2013 season, has established itself as a gateway to the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.<\/p>\n
Leading first round scores Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Malaysia\u2019s Danny Chia continued his good run of form to share the opening round clubhouse lead with compatriot Iylia Jamil on five-under-par 67 at the weather-disrupted PGM Johor Championship on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Local hope Rizal Amin was in third after signing for a 68 while Australia\u2019s Darren Tan, Singapore\u2019s Mardan Mamat and Senroku Isa of Japan shared fourth position on matching 69s at the Johor Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n The first round of the RM200,000 (approximately US$60,000) event was abandoned at 3.30pm local time due to lightning threat. A total of 66 players will return at 7.30am on Thursday to complete their first rounds, while the second round is scheduled to start at 9.10am.<\/p>\n Chia, who successfully defended his title for a second ADT victory at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship a fortnight ago, set the early pace with a flawless round highlighted by five birdies.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to play here a lot in the past but I haven\u2019t been here for a while. The greens are tricky but the roughs are not as thick as it used to be so it\u2019s slightly easier,\u201d said Chia, who finished tied 33rd at the ICTSI Philippine Open on the Asian Tour last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>
67 \u2013 Danny Chia (MAS), Mohd Iylia JAMIL (MAS)
68 \u2013 Rizal AMIN (MAS)
69 \u2013 Darren TAN (AUS), Senroku ISA (JPN), Mardan MAMAT (SIN)
70 \u2013 Muhd Zafran ABDULLAN (A) (MAS), R. Nachimuthu (MAS), Zaw MOE (MYN)
71 \u2013 Naoto NAKANISHI (JPN), TAN Chien Hae (MAS), YE Jian-feng (CHN), Arie IRAWAN (MAS), Mathiam KEYSER (RSA), Craig HINTON (ENG), Yuzo ICHIKAWA (JPN), KHOR Kheng Hwai (MAS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"