Westwood takes charge in Malaysia

April 17, 2014: Former World No. 1, Lee Westwood of England fired a superb seven-under -65 at the Maybank Malaysian Open, to place himself comfortably before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.

The 40-year-old Englishman, who finished seventh in the Masters tournament, last week said he is happy with his good form recently.

“I played well last week in finishing seventh and I was happy to carry that on today,” Westwood said.

[highlight] I’m pleased to get off to a good start. It’s nice to have a good one and build some momentum for the week, said Westwood [/highlight]

“I’m pleased to get off to a good start. It’s nice to have a good one and build some momentum for the week.”

Westwood made eight birdies against a single bogey on 10th to climb to the top of the leader board.

“I didn’t make the best of starts but fortunately that didn’t set the tone for the day,” added Westwood, who won the Malaysian Open in 1997 before it became co-sanctioned with the European Tour and Asian Tour and has recorded 12 of his 40 worldwide victories in Asia. “I hit it really well and hit it close a lot.

Nicolas Colsaerts was a shot behind after carding eight birdies and two bogeys in his 66.  Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey and Ricardo Santos of Portugal are positioned another stroke back after a 67.

“I’ve felt I’ve played pretty well since early in the season, but there’s always been a stretch of holes where I’ve shot myself in the foot for some reason,” said Belgian Colsaerts.

South African Jbe Kruger, who won on the Sunshine Tour last week, carded a four under 68 with Scotland’s Craig Lee three under after bogeys on his final two holes.

Among Indian golfers vying for good performance in Kuala Lumpur, SSP Chowrasia was best placed at 28th on day 1 after carding one-under 71. Rashid Khan and Anirban Lahiri are tied 40 after finishing the day with a round of 72. Chirag Kumar is also at 40th after playing 12 holes.

While, Rahil Gangjee( 74), Arjun Atwal(75), Gaganjeet Bhullar (75), Shiv Kapur(76), Jyoti Randhawa(76) Jeev Milkha Singh(77)and Himmat Rai(77) lie low on the leader board.