Joost Luiten now leading the Iskandar Johor Open with Padraig Harrington in close contention
Joost Luiten, the 25-year-old Dutch golfer, is now heading in the right direction to probably clinch his maiden European Tour win at the latest Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia and is now leading the event after the first round’s proceedings. The Dutchman
carded an impressive eight-under, 63 at the scenic Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club to stay clear of the destructive Padraig Harrington, who is desperate to end his winless streak for the season. Luiten managed to pull in eight birdies without dropping
a single shot in the opening 18-hole stretch and spoke about his technique of manoeuvring the witty layout of the Horizon Hills.
“On this course, you can really attack the pins, especially as you've got a lot of wedges in your hand,” he said. “I found most of the fairways off the tee, and that put me in a great position to make some birdies. I think a few guys will go very low this
week, depending on the weather. I think a 61 or 62 is possible if you get your putter going. If you look at previous years, the winning score has been around minus 20 or so, and K J Choi won with minus 20 after three rounds.”
Luiten turned professional in the year 2006 and joined the Challenge Tour in 2007. He posted two victories for the season to end sixth on the Challenge Tour rankings, thus qualifying for a tour card for the mainstream European Tour. He has won three professional
events in his career and is still in search for his first European Tour victory.
Second spot is being tightly contested by two other players alongside Harrington, including Frenchman Gregory Bourdy and Australian Marcus Fraser. Harrington, who is also the defending champion here, has not won a single title after his victory in 2010.
Starting from front nine, the three-time major winner carded four birdies before making the turn. The highlight of his round came at the par-five, 13th where he pulled in a stunning eagle to close the gap between Luiten and himself. He carded two
more birdies and dropped the first shot of his day to fall back one shot behind the leader.
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