Maybank Malaysian Open. Kiradech Aphibarnrat 1st Round Leader

Kiradech Aphibarnrat is the first round leader at the Maybank Malaysian Open, being played at  the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat / Getty Images

Kiradech opened the tournament with a -7 under par round of 65, he managed to get in the clubhouse before the thunderstorms brought proceedings to a halt.

There are four players hot on his heels,  just one shot back on -6 under par are Anders Hansen, Edoardo Molinari, Scott Jamieson and Grégory Bourdy.

Grégory birdied five of his first seven holes and said -6 is a good score on this course;

” It’s great to start the tournament like this, six under is a good score on this course. I finished second here two years ago, so I like the course a lot. It’s maybe one of the best we play all season and it’s in great shape again this year. The area is great also, and the weather is very good. I’m enjoying this event again and I hope my game stays like this until Sunday.”

Anders has been struggling a bit this season and was very pleased with his opening round;

” I’m very, very pleased. I’ve been struggling a bit all year, but this week I’ve worked very hard on the range even though it has been so hot.  I hit a lot of good shots today, although I had a couple of loose ones at the start. I hit it in the water on the first which wasn’t good, but I made a good recovery. I hit some very solid golf shots yesterday in the pro-am and that gave me some confidence for today. It’s too hot to get frustrated so you just have to stick in there. It’s extreme and very difficult for everyone.”

World Number Three Luke Donald made his now customary slow start to a tournament and could only manage a +2 over par round of 74, despite chipping in for birdie at the first. Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington has made a good start in Kuala Lumpur with a three under par 69 for a share of tenth place.

Not everybody has completed their first rounds yet, so there could be some changes to the leaderboard before the start of the second round. Scott Jamieson is at -6 under par through ten holes, and could yet top the leaderboard himself.

Tshwane Open Rd 1, Darren Fichardt Leads.

Darren Fichardt / Getty Images

Darren Fichardt secured the first round lead as he goes in search of a second European Tour win in as many weeks at the inaugural Tshwane Open, at Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate in South Africa. Darren had a first round of -7 under par 65, and is looking to add to his  African Open victory a couple of weeks ago. Darren also likes the Ernie Els designed course here;

“The swing is good and I’m putting well, this golf course is awesome , it’s very fair. The greens are very soft, so you’re able to attack the flags. I’m happy with seven under to start off with. Right now it’s been eight weeks in a row and I don’t even know what’s going on! I’m just going with the flow and hitting one shot at a time. I’m looking forward to a break. I’ll take it one day at a time and do my best this week.”

In second place is  qualifying school graduate, Sweden’s Bjorn Åkesson, shooting a round of -6 under par 66, he said afterwards;

“I got off to a great start with two birdies through the first three, back nine I kept playing really good and made a lot of putts. That’s what you need to do to shoot low scores.”

This is the sixth and final event co-sanctioned between The European Tour and Sunshine Tour on The 2013 Race to Dubai, and so far they have been predominately South African winners. The only exception to this run was the win of   Scott Jamieson at the Nelson Mandela Championship, which was presented by ISPS Handa

The former Ryder Cup star, England’s David Howell, along with countryman Gary Lockerbie,  are accompanied by India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, Chilean Mark Tullo and South African Jean Hugo, all  are two shots off the pace in a share of third. Jeev Milkha Singh said he just loves playing here;

“I love playing in South Africa,  I’ve always had good results and it always gives me positive vibes and good memories when I come back. This year I played the Volvo Champs in Durban and it was my first time back in South Africa after eight years. Every time I wanted to come back there was an event in Asia or Europe and I was missing coming back.  Things have worked out nicely that I’m back here and I love the course. I’m happy with the way I hit the ball and I putted well. When it’s windy and you miss a few greens you need to make some up and downs and that’s what I did. I holed a lot of putts today and I’m happy with the way the round turned out.” 

Volvo Golf Champions, Awesome Oosthuizen Wins

Louis Oosthuizen / getty images

Louis Oosthuizen won the Volvo Golf Champions tournament in South Africa at the Durban Country Club on Sunday. He shot an awesome last round 66,  -6 under par, for a -16 under par total, to win by one shot from Scott Jamieson, who could only manage a par round of 72, and watched as the title slipped through his fingers, he finished at -15 under par.

This win is Louis’ sixth European Tour title and one that elevates him to a career-high fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking, pushing England’s Justin Rose down to fifth in the world.

In interview Louis said;

” It was a great week, a lot of things happened. It’s a great start to the year, I knew I had to come out and get my name up there. After being five down, to make it up after 12 holes, I was really chuffed about that. I just played really well all day.”

Scott Jamieson had no shame in losing out to a Major Champion, but was annoyed about his double bogey on hole 5:

“Louis is a Major Champion, there’s no shame in losing to him, I gave it my all, but it wasn’t to be. The double bogey was a kick in the teeth, but I had tons of chances and couldn’t take them.”

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand secured  third place at – 14 under par, closing with a round of 68, with Ireland’s Padraig Harrington also closing with a -4 under par 68, to climb to fourth position on his own at -12 under par for the tournament.