Friday October 12, 2012

Ainil and Aretha Malaysia’s best finishers after first round

KUALA LUMPUR: Local professional Ainil Johani and amateur Aretha Pan scored identical two-over 73s to be tied in 54th place with three others in the opening round of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia yesterday.

They are the best Malaysian finishers as the other two – Jean Chua and Sarfina Vinotha – are in joint 62nd and 70th positions respectively.

The Malaysians were among the lucky ones who managed to finish their game before rain halted play at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) in the afternoon.

Ainil and Aretha are tied with England’s Jodi Ewart, South Korea’s Meena Lee and Australia’s Angela Stanford.

<b>Zero birdies:</b> Malaysia’s Sarfina Vinotha hitting the ball from the rough at the 12th hole during the first round Thursday.

Zero birdies: Malaysia’s Sarfina Vinotha hitting the ball from the rough at the 12th hole during the first round Thursday.

A double bogey on the par-four second hole, followed by another bogey at the next one saw Ainil fall three behind early in the front nine.

But birdies on the sixth and seventh helped steady her game.

The back nine saw her carding a birdie on the 8th hole before two more bogeys – at the 11th and 14th – resulted in her finishing at two-over 73.

Aretha, who hopes to join the professional ranks soon, also had a mixed day, with two birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey at the 14th hole.

“It was a bad shot at the 14th ... I shot to the left and the ball landed in the water. That earned me a double bogey. My putting was all right ... I have to hit the fairways more,” said Aretha.

“Overall, my game was good and I need to improve on some aspects tomorrow.”

Jean, meanwhile, was disappointed with her game.

“It was a reasonable front nine as I had birdies on the fourth and eighth. That sort of cancelled out the bogeys on the second and sixth holes,” said Jean, who is tied with American Michelle Wie and Taiwan’s Cheng Ssu-chia.

“Then I double bogeyed at the ninth and fell back two strokes. The back nine was okay with just two bogeys at the 16th and 17th.

“I was nervous at the start and felt a bit of the pressure. I will continue to play my game.”

For 16-year old Sarfina, tied with Mariajo Uribe of Colombia, the chance to play with the best more than makes up for finishing at the bottom of the pile.

“I’m very happy to play here. It’s a chance to learn from the top stars. My game was not that good as I had trouble with the fairways and putting,” she said.

Sarfina signed off the day with an 81 – with 10 bogeys and no birdies.

“Phew, there was no double bogey for me.

“That’s a relief,” she said.

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Friday October 12, 2012

Ainil and Aretha Malaysia’s best finishers after first round