Published July 17, 2008 on March 5, 2020

Aussie Andrew Dodt Grabs Clubhouse Lead at Opening Round of Bandar Malaysia Open

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Australian Andrew Dodt took advantage of a hot start to sign for an opening nine-under-par 63 and grab the clubhouse lead by two shots at the weather-disrupted Bandar Malaysia Open on Thursday.

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 5.55 pm local time due to lightning threats.

“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 every day. Just felt comfortable and easy. It’s great to shoot nine-under,” said Dodt.

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.

He added, “Malaysia has been a happy hunting ground for me. Today’s round is just another step in the right direction for me. I birdied the first two holes and that kind of kicked off the round for me. My game’s in good shape. I was very aggressively on my par-fives and there wasn’t too much breeze. I could get on the green in two. That certainly helps.”

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.

“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,” said the Malaysian golfer.

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

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.

 

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).