Lee Westwood retains control at #MMO

Edited by Anand Datla

February 06, 2015:

Lee Westwood maintained a familiar position at the top of the Maybank Malaysian Open leaderboard with a five under par 67 in the second round, but he has Alejandro Cañizares for company after the Spaniard birdied the last for a wonderful 65.  The 41 year old Englishman has now led or co-led for the last six rounds at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, having completed a wire-to-wire victory in this event last season, and his strong affinity with the venue continued as he notched six birdies and a bogey.

Only four of the nine Indian golfers managed to make the weekend. The cut fell at two over and Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, Rahil Gangjee, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Arjun Atwal ended up marching toward the exit gates.

Anirban Lahiri made an even par 72 to position himself just outside the top 20 with two rounds to play. Shiv Kapur and SSP Chowrasia were lying one behind Lahiri after shooting 71 and 67 respectively. Chowrasia’s effort was commendable given that he was working from a miserable 76 in the first round. Rashid Khan was the last Indian to get through to the weekend, repeating a 73 just as in the first round to slip inside right on the edge of the knife.

A birdie from 18 feet on the last put him three clear at 11 under par, but Cañizares reeled him by birdieing three of his last four holes, a fine finish to a flawless round that featured seven birdies.  Austrian Bernd Wiesberger continued his fine form following three consecutive top six finishes in the Middle East prior to this event, carding a 66 to lie third, three strokes back from the leading duo.

Irishman Peter Lawrie, playing on a sponsor’s invite, had a welcome 66 to share third place with England’s Paul Waring (68), but it was a day to forget for Graeme McDowell, Westwood’s first round co-leader, who signed for a 73 to slip back to eighth place, six shots off the pace.  Grégory Bourdy of France provided one of the highlights of the second round by acing the 15th – his second hole-in-one of the week after doing the same on the eighth hole in Tuesday’s Pro-Am.

“I played nicely again. It was pretty solid again and I probably only hit one poor shot all day, from the middle of the fairway on the fifth hole. I was going in with a five iron and blocked it right into the water. I was trying not to pull it left and just slid into it a little bit and ended up making six when I should have made four,” admitted Westwood. “But other than that it was very good and I felt very comfortable out there. I hit a lot of fairways and some good iron shots and made some nice putts. It was great to birdie two of the last three.”

“I thought the course played really well. The greens were great, considering it was the afternoon. If you started it on line the ball rolled very nicely,” added the Englishman. “They’re not spiky at all. The whole golf course is excellent. Considering how many tournaments are played here, they do a brilliant job getting it in shape every time.”

“It was a lot of fun. I played really well. I wasn’t so good off the tee today, but I putted really well. I made some great up-and-downs when I missed a shot, and I’m very happy overall. I can’t wait for the weekend, it’ll be a lot of fun,” gushed an evidently thrilled Alejandro Cañizares. “It was tough to keep your concentration today because of the weather, but luckily some clouds came over and it wasn’t as hot as it is when the sun is on you. The course is playing nicely and the greens are rolling very well. It’s a great track and a very nice tournament.”

Second Round Scores – 74 players made the cut on 146 (+2)

133 L Westwood (Eng) 66 67, A Cañizares (Esp) 68 65,

136 B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 66,

137 P Waring (Eng) 69 68, P Lawrie (Irl) 71 66,

138 R Lee (Can) 69 69, R Bland (Eng) 68 70,

139 G McDowell (Nir) 66 73,

142 A Lahiri (Ind) 70 72

143 S Kapur (Ind) 72 71, S Chawrasia (Ind) 76 67

146 R Khan (Ind) 73 73

Indian golfers that missed the cut

147 J Singh (Ind) 73 74

148 R Gangjee (Ind) 77 71, J Randhawa (Ind) 76 72

151 A Atwal (Ind) 76 75, G Bhullar (Ind) 74 77