Thursday September 6, 2012
Nothing special but it’s enough for Nicholas to be in the hunt
SHAH ALAM: It was nothing spectacular but enough to put Nicholas Fung in contention after the opening day’s action of the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club yesterday.
The bespectacled Nicholas flew the flag for the local challengers with a three-under 69 and he was pleased with his day’s work.
“I played really good today. I was really happy with my shot-making and putting, which helped me a lot. I didn’t really make any long putts. Birdied three of the par fives and two of the par threes,” he said.
“But it was nice playing here. The green speed was very nice and it’s soft.
“The fairways are quite narrow, which suits my game, and you don’t need to hit it long.”
Nicholas has been enjoying strong form so far this season, with six runner-up finishes – the latest being in the Thailand leg of the Asean PGA in Khon Kaen last week.
“I’ve been playing great. Lost in a play-off in a Thai event and finished second in Templer Park behind Airil (Rizman) in the PGM last month. I also finished second in the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event in Indonesia. It’s been a good confidence booster for me but I try not to be over-confident,” said the 22-year-old who is planning to earn a full Asian Tour card next year.
“I learnt my lesson from the ADT event, where I led by five shots with six holes to go and I told my caddie that we had already won it. But Jay Bayron finished strongly to win it by one.
“My plan is to get back onto the Asian Tour next year. I aim to get back into the Qualifying School. I heard that Malaysia will also host something like 10 ADT events next year ... that’s good for us.”
Fellow Malaysian Shaaban Hussin struggled to adapt to the green speeds and ended the first day with a two-under 70.
“I feel that my game is good and this is a good start for me. I will try to do better in the second round. The course is not very difficult but the greens are very tricky and fast,” he said.
“It is difficult to predict the speed of our putts. If you can control your putts and adapt to the speeds, then you will get a good score here.
“I need to improve on my putting. I hit good shots but couldn’t convert my putts. I played much better later in the round, so I hope I can continue my form in the following days.”
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