Dodt seizes clubhouse lead with a sizzling 63

 

After two opening birdies, the 34-year-old Dodt added a birdie on the sixth and an eagle-three on seventh to turn in 31. He nailed four more birdies on his way home to take his place atop the leaderboard just before play got suspended at 5.55pm local time due to lightning threats.

Dodt, who endured two missed cuts in his first three starts this season, was thrilled to regain his fine form in Malaysia, where he had sensationally claimed his third Asian Tour victory in Sarawak last August following a two-month injury layoff.

Reigning Asian Development Tour Order of Merit champion Naoki Sekito of Japan closed with three consecutive birdies to sit in second place at the US$1 million event, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

Thai duo Phachara Khongwatmai and Pavit Tangkamolprasert returned with matching 66s, thanks to their respective front and back-nine 30s, to share third place with Chinese Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun and Bjorn Hellgren of Sweden, who came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School two weeks ago.

Mohammad Wafiyuddin emerged as the best-placed Malaysian after carding a commendable 68 to tie in 13th place at the award-winning Kota Permai Golf & Country Club, which last hosted the storied event in 2008.

A total of 51 players will resume their opening rounds at 7.40am on Friday with the second round slated to start at 7.50am.

The highly acclaimed Bandar Malaysia Open, which boasts a new tagline 'Pride, Passion, Prominence', is the flagship event for the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA). It returns to the Asian Tour schedule this week after a four-year hiatus.

Players’ quotes

Andrew Dodt (AUS) – First round 64 (-8)

It felt quite simple. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and holed a lot of putts. This is, overall, what I’ve been trying to do everyday. Just felt comfortable and easy. It’s great to shoot nine-under.

Malaysia has been a happy hunting ground for me. Today’s round is just another step in the right direction for me. I was first reserve on site when we played the Malaysian Open here back in 2008. So I just sat around the putting green the whole day and didn’t get to tee up.

I birdied the first two holes and that kind of kicked off the round for me. My game’s in a good shape. I was very aggressively on my par-fives and there weren’t too much breeze. I could get on the green in two. That certainly helps.

This course demands accuracy off the tees. If you’re not on the fairways, you’re going to struggle getting on the greens. I haven’t played as well as I can the last two weeks but now I can. I just want to keep it simple and have a bit of fun.

Naoki Sekito (JPN) – First round 65 (-7)

It was good to finish with three birdies. I made a bad bogey on the fifth where I three-putted and I told myself to make at least one more birdie coming in. I managed to birdie the seventh hole and rode on the momentum from there. I am so happy.

I missed only one green today. I think that’s the key to my 65. I hit my irons quite close to the pins and made some good putts. I remember playing in a junior event here on this course when I was 17. I played really well but lost in a play-off.

I couldn’t speak English at that time yet. It was before I went to Australia. I only remembered playing on this course before when I came back here this week. Good vibes for me because I played well although I didn’t win at that time.

I haven’t played in a tournament for a month so it was nice to come back and get off to a good start. You need to keep the ball in play to give yourself birdie chances out there. On the seventh, I made the birdie putt from about 15 feet and then another similar one on the eighth. On the ninth, I hit a good second shot to about two feet and made the birdie putt.

Phachara Khongwatmai (THA) – First round 66 (-6)

I made a 30-footer for eagle on the first. Good start there. Gave me a lot of momentum there. I went on to make four birdies to turn in 30. The back nine was quite difficult for me because I didn’t get to practise yesterday due to the rain. I only flew in on Tuesday evening.

Even-par on the back nine, it’s not too bad. I’ll take it. I putted well today. The greens are quite difficult here. So I’m happy with the way I played.

Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) – First round 66 (-6)

I didn’t make any putts on the first nine at all. The turning point came on the 11th hole. I sank the birdie putt from about three yards. That gave me a lot of confidence heading into the remainder of the round. I felt like the putter is turning hot and I started making everything.

I hit it on the line on 17th actually but the green was so firm, I knew I won’t be able to hole it especially from 200 yards. I hit it good off the tee today and I was able to give myself a lot of opportunities. My approach shots were good too. I managed to hit it close on a few holes.

Mohammad Wafiyuddin (MAS) – First round 67 (-5)

Getting to play and practise on this course last week helped me a lot. I feel really comfortable out there. If I could hit a few more greens in regulation, I think I could go a few shots lower. My putting was key today but I’m not really happy with my iron-play.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the way I played. I don’t get to play here often because I’m from Kedah. Happy to get off to a good start in my National Open. It’s a good boost in confidence for me because I haven’t played in tournaments for about three months already.

Scores after round 1 of the Bandar Malaysia Open 2020 being played at the par 72, 7016 Yards Kota Permai GCC course (am - denotes amateur):

63 - Andrew Dodt (AUS).

65 - Naoki Sekito (JPN).

66 - Chang Wei-lun (TPE), Bjorn Hellgren (SWE), Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA), Phachara Khongwatmai (THA).

67 - Kyungnam Kang (KOR), Richard T.Lee (CAN), Kosuke Hamamoto (THA), Mikiya Akutsu (JPN), Angelo Que (PHI).

68 - Rikuya Hoshino (JPN), Mohammad Wafiyuddin (MAS), S. Chikkarangappa (IND), Pannakorn Uthaipas (THA), Eunshin Park (KOR).

69 - Joohyung Kim (KOR), Gunn Charoenkul (THA), Nicholas Fung (MAS), Dongmin Kim (KOR), Charlie Wi (KOR), Jake Higginbottom (AUS), Suradit Yongcharoenchai (THA), Dodge Kemmer (USA).

70 - Shunya Takeyasu (JPN), Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND), Zach Bauchou (USA), Jbe Kruger (RSA), Miguel Carballo (ARG), Chan Shih-chang (TPE), Shahriffuddin Ariffin (MAS), Kodai Ichihara (JPN), Travis Smyth (AUS), Jaco Ahlers (RSA), Jeev Milkha Singh (IND), Danthai Boonma (THA), Fakhrul Akmal (MAS), Will Heffernan (AUS), Scott Vincent (ZIM), Hein Sithu (MYN), Ben Leong (MAS).

71 - Mikumu Horikawa (JPN), Hung Chien-yao (TPE), Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND), Seungsu Han (USA), Juvic Pagunsan (PHI), Taewoo Kim #1468 (KOR), Lawri Flynn (am, AUS), Wade Ormsby (AUS), Amir Nazrin (MAS), Shiv Kapur (IND), Leunkwang Kim (MAS), Toshinori Muto (JPN).