Troy Matteson takes the clubhouse lead at the CIMB Classic
Troy Matteson of the United States stormed to the top of the leaderboard midway through the opening round of the CIMB Classic, after firing a sparkling eight-under par 63, on Thursday, October 25, 2012.
The US$6.1 million tournament is being played at The Mines Resort and Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, featuring some of the best players from the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour.
The tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia.
There are a total of 30 PGA Tour players competing against 10 Asian Tour professionals and eight other players who made it into the tournament through sponsor exemptions.
Matteson was among the early starts and he took advantage of the player-friendly conditions to post a bogey-free round.
His performance included a total of eight birdies, which included an impressive run of four birdies in a row to end his round.
Walking off the course, he was really pleased with his performance in the tournament, where he has never played before in his career.
Talking about the course conditions, he stated that he felt as if he was playing back at home. The grass was smooth and it was really easy to record long putts.
According to him, iron-play and off the tee skills will play a key role this week in Kuala Lumpur.
“The course is great. The grass is a lot like what I play back home. I love the course a lot. You’ve got to play your way around and you’ve got to make some decision, you’ve got to hit some irons and some three-woods,” said the 33-year-old.
Talking to the reporters after his round, he stated that he has been playing good golf for the last few months and plans to end the season on a high note with a victory this week.
“My play has been picking up in the last part of the year. I’ve had a good summer and I usually have not played good in the summer over the years. I’m looking to just finish strong to the year,” the American said.
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