A resurgent Rory Hie of Indonesia has credited chicken tandoori dinners for his superb performance in the US$175,000 PKNS Selangor Masters, after adding a second round 67 to his opening 68 to take the 36-hole clubhouse lead at Seri Selangor Golf Club.
The 35-year-old sits atop the leaderboard of the joint Asian Development Tour (ADT) and domestic Toyota Tour event with a five-under-par 135 total, two shots ahead of local surprise package Muhammad Danial Faidz. Seri Selangor is set up to par-70 this week, with the par-five 5th and par-five 18th holes converted to par-fours.
“Before the first round I ate tandoori chicken and I had the same dinner yesterday, so I’m just going to keep eating tandoori chicken for dinner! It’s at the nasi kandar shop opposite my hotel, which is just across the street from the golf club,” bellowed an elated Hie.
With inclement weather curtailing play at 4.26pm yesterday, half of the 144-player field had to head out early this morning to complete Round 1. When fading light stopped play at 6.40pm today, 65 golfers had yet to complete their second rounds. Round 2 will resume at 7.15am tomorrow, with Round 3 commencing not before 10.30am.
Hie had to finish nine holes of his first round this morning, playing an energy-sapping total of 27 holes today. Unperturbed, he snared an eagle and two birdies against just one bogey in his second 18 to surge up the leaderboard. Hie’s eagle came at the par-five 6th hole, where he also made three early in his opening round yesterday.
“Yesterday I hit a 3-iron from 225 yards to about 20 feet and made the putt, and today I hit the exact same shot straight over the flag and sank a 12-footer for eagle.
“It’s kind of weird how this game is! Last week I was hitting it really bad during a casual round, and then something clicked just before the first round here. I hit it well in both rounds and my short game was good, my putting was good, so overall I’m really happy,” said Hie, who won the 2019 Classic Golf and Country Club International Championship in India for his sole Asian Tour title.
Hie enthused that he loved the tight, tree-lined Seri Selangor layout for the way it challenged every aspect of the game. The last time he played the course was during the 2014 Selangor Masters, when he finished tied 21st.
“I love this golf course! I just like the way Seri Selangor challenges every aspect of your game including your course management, so all around it’s a really superb golf course,” said Hie.
Muhammad Danial Faidz of Malaysia has emerged as the best local player in round two
On an overcast day with intermittent rain, Muhammad Danial emerged as the leading Malaysian after signing in impressive rounds of 68 and 69 for a three-under-par 137 total. The 25-year-old from Ipoh benefitted from keeping things as simple as possible on the course.
“I just tried to keep it as simple as I could, just keep the ball on the fairway and avoid getting into trouble. It turned out well in these two rounds, so we’ll see how it goes the next two days. I was putting really well, and my irons were good too,” said Danial, who had to complete two holes of his first round this morning.
Still hunting for his first professional title since joining the paid ranks in 2017, Danial noted that he will take it one shot at a time over the final 36 holes.
“I’ll just enjoy the game and focus on each shot. If I have a chance to win, of course I’ll try and grab it, but it’s golf and anything can happen in the next two days. So I’ll just enjoy myself and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Ho Yu-Cheng of Chinese Taipei is well in the hunt on two-under-par, following up an opening 68 with an even-par 70.
“The drives here are pretty tough because the fairways are a little tight. My game is good, especially my putting, and when I missed the green, I managed to get up and down,” said the 25-year-old, whose best finish on the ADT is sole second at this year’s BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Indonesia.
Three-time ADT winner Naoki Sekito of Japan shot a superb second round 65, 10 shots better than his opening 18, to play his way into contention on even-par 140. The 26-year-old is tied with Malaysia’s Daeng Rahman (71, 69).
“I played 28 holes today, so it was long day! In the first round, I had no idea what to do to shoot under-par on this golf course, as everything is so difficult from tee to green. I didn’t change anything for the second round, but I tried to focus on every single shot and just do my best. And suddenly it worked well,” said Sekito, whose latest ADT win came at this year’s OB Golf Championship in Indonesia.
First round leader Poosit Supupramai of Thailand was among the players who did not manage to compete their second rounds. Winner of the ADT’s 2017 Defence Raya Golf Championship in Pakistan, the 30-year-old is plus-one for the day and four-under-par overall after 12 holes.
Malaysian number one Gavin Green had a torrid time and was eight-over-par for the day after 15 holes, due largely to a quadruple bogey eight at the second hole when his drive went just out of bounds. The 2017 Asian Tour number one is one shot below the projected cutline of six-over-par.
The PKNS Selangor Masters is the first stop of the closing three-event stretch on this year’s ADT and is also the penultimate tournament of the 2023 Toyota Tour. With the lucrative prize money on offer, the tournament will play a pivotal role in determining the top 10 players on the ADT’s final Order of Merit who will earn Asian Tour cards for 2024.
The organisers will be awarding the best Malaysian finisher this week with an additional RM10,000 on top of the tournament prize money.
Since its inception in 2007, the Selangor Masters has seen two Malaysian winners in Ben Leong, who won the second edition in 2008, and Shahriffuddin Ariffin who was triumphant last year. Both Leong and Shahriffuddin are competing in this week’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour.
The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) returns as title sponsor for the second year running, while the event promoter is PKNS Golf Management Services Sdn Bhd which is a full subsidiary of PKNS.
Crafted by Australian architect Ross Watson, the Seri Selangor course opened for play in 1998 as Malaysia’s first genuine public facility and provides an enthralling golf experience with its strategic design and speedy greens.
LEADING ROUND 2 SCORES (COMPLETED ROUNDS ONLY)
135 (-5) Rory Hie (INA) 68-67
137 (-3) Muhammad Danial Faidz (MAS) 68-69
138 (-2) Ho Yu-Cheng (TPE) 68-70
140 (E) Daeng Rahman (MAS) 71-69
Naoki Sekito (JPN) 75-65
141 (+1) Nopparat Panichphol (THA) 72-69
Deyen Lawson (AUS) 73-68
Runchanapong Youprayong (THA) 70-71
