Charl Schwartzel takes the opening round lead at the Maybank Malaysian Open – Golf News
South African Charl Schwartzel fired an eight-under par 64 in the opening round of the Maybank Malaysian Open to finish atop the leaderboard on Thursday, April 12, 2012.
He started his round on the back nine of the course and carded four birdies against a lone bogey to move at three-under for the round.
On the front nine, he displayed a spectacular show of five birdies to take a one-stroke lead over Indian star, Jeev Milkha Singh.
It was, overall, a stunning display of game, considering the fact that he was coming directly from Augusta National where he participated in the Masters Tournament.
His flight took 30 hours to reach Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening. Therefore, he took complete rest on Wednesday to get refreshed for the event.
"I felt surprisingly good today (yesterday)," said 2011 Masters champion Schwartzel. "I got a good night's sleep and woke up this (yesterday) morning before the alarm".
"The tiredness seems to catch me more in the afternoon than the morning, so it felt pretty good. I'll go back this afternoon and get some rest," he added.
According to him, he was playing a good game for the last few months and nothing came his way during that period. Therefore, he looked pleased with his opening round performance in Kuala Lumpur.
"It has been feeling good for a long time but given me nothing. I seemed to put it all together (here) and eight-under was a good score for me," he said.
Schwartzel could have done even better if he had not missed a couple of birdie chances. Yet, it was a great score for him. as he has not shot such a low score in the past couple of months.
Meanwhile, Singh also had a great run in the opening round as he managed to score one eagle and six birdies against a lone bogey to take the second spot on the leaderboard.
Jason Knutzon was further a stroke back with the help of seven birdies and a bogey to take the third position.
Defending champion, Matteo Manassero, had a mixed round of five birdies and three bogeys to finish at two-under par 70.
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