Shahriffuddin Ariffin of Malaysia is in joint second spot
Malaysia’s Amir Nazrin renewed his love affair with the Seri Selangor Golf Club with an impressive 6-under 65 to take the first round lead of the PKNS Selangor Masters here today.
The 25-year old took full advantage of his intimate knowledge of the challenging Seri Selangor layout, carding seven birdies against a lone bogey on a balmy morning in this US$150,000 Asian Development Tour event.
Lying in joint second two strokes behind are Malaysians Shahrifuddin Ariffin, Edven Ying and Denwit Boriboonsub of Thailand. Bunched in fourth position at 3-under are Joe Heraty of England, Lloyd Jefferson Go of the Philippines, Suttijet Kooratanapisan of Thailand and Galven Green of Malaysia.
Only 21 players managed to score par or better on this Ross Watson masterpiece, with the cut likely to be at least 5-over, basing on today’s scores.
Denwit Boriboonsub of Thailand
It was on this course that Amir first started the game at the age of six and then spent most of his formative years here under the tutelage of his mentor Shaaban Hussin. “Yes this has been my home course for many years although I’m now based in Desaru where I’m the touring professional for the Els Club,” said Amir.
He started off with a bogey on the first hole but then collected himself well with birdies on the fourth and ninth. “I missed a bunch of fairways on the front nine but managed to scramble well. I knew I had to turn my game around at the turn, and snatched birdies at the 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th holes.”
Amir is currently ranked 33rd on the ADT Order of Merit and is hoping for a high finish this week to propel himself up the ladder. He has played in 12 events this year and will compete in Riyadh for the Saudi Open (Dec 8-10) and the season-ending Taifong Open in Chinese Taipei from Dec 22-25.
Order of Merit leader Suteepat Prateeptienchai couldn’t get his game going and had to be content with an even-par 71. Playing in Malaysia for the first time, the Thai professional said he was very impressed with the golf course and felt he could have scored better today.
Shahrifuddin, who played in the same flight with Suteepat, wasn’t too pleased with how he started the day, losing to a bogey on his first hole. “I wasn’t confident with my swing but this changed when we crossed over to our second nine. I began to swing the club better and was hitting the ball well. I told myself to keep it simple, find more fairways and greens and the birdies will come.”
Galven Green of Malaysia lies in joint fifth spot
Ranked 7th on the OOM, Shahrifuddin is eyeing a strong finish here to cement a place among the top 10 to earn playing rights on the 2023 Asian Tour. “This course can bite you if you’re careless, so I’m taking it one day at a time,” said the 23-year old.
Paul San of Malaysia, ninth in the OOM, didn’t have a good ending to his game and finished two-over. Birdies on the 4th and 8th enabled him a two-under at the turn. “First nine I played pretty solid but it was frustrating on the back nine. I couldn’t get anything going and was just fighting for pars. I’m starting off from the back nine tomorrow and I’ve just got to keep it together and try to score better.”
Leading First Round Scores:
65 – Amir Nazrin (MAS)
67 – Denwit Boriboonsub (THA), Shahriffuddin Ariffin (MAS), Edven Ying (MAS)
68 – Joe Heraty (ENG), Lloyd Jefferson Go (PHI), Galven Green (MAS), Suttijet Kooratanapisan (THA)
69 – Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (THA)
70 – Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij (THA), Joshua Grenville-Wood (ENG), Danny Chia (MAS), Leunkwang Kim (MAS), Gregory Foo (SIN), Van Thomas (USA), Jack Murdoch (AUS), Hariz Hezri (a) (MAS)
