Asian Tour Press Release
McIlroy aims to be ace in pack at Maybank
Malaysian Open
Kuala Lumpur, March 4: Ireland’s rising star Rory McIlroy will be shooting for a winning debut at the US$2 million Maybank Malaysian Open which begins on Thursday.
The exciting 18-year-old talent, pictured right, signalled his intentions to lift his maiden professional victory with a nine-under-par 63 during the pro-am which included a magical hole-in-one at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.
While McIlroy knows he shouldn’t read too much into today’s exploits, much can certainly be expected from the Irish youngster, who has the game, poise and looks to become a global star.
McIlroy, who hails from Hollywood, near Belfast in Northern Ireland, will face a strong line-up of stars from the Asian Tour and European Tour who includes last season’s Asian number one Liang Wen-chong of China, India’s Arjun Atwal, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Ryder Cup stalwarts Darren Clarke, David Howell and Paul McGinley.
Asian Tour’s Order of Merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand, who has won back-to-back titles and risen to 64th in the world, is strongly tipped to ride on his rich vein of form in Malaysia.
With a wonderful track record since turning professional at the end of last year, McIlroy, the 2007 world amateur number one, said he was hoping to enjoy a memorable first visit to Malaysia.
“It is my first time here and I am very impressed with the golf course. It is a very old fashioned, traditional layout and the greens are great. The rain has helped soften it up and the greens are rolling great.
“I haven’t seen much of Kuala Lumpur yet but hope to go out in the city and see the Petronas Twin Towers. But it seems a nice country and a bit different to what I am used to. I am really looking forward to the week,” said McIlroy.
McIlroy captured the public eye when he shot a bogey-free 68 in the opening round of last year's Open in Carnoustie. After the Walker Cup match against the United States, he turned professional and finished third in his second professional tournament at the Dunhill Links Championship to secure his card in Europe.
He also finished joint fourth in his third event but the Irish phenom certainly has the confidence in him to know that a victory is just around the corner. But rather than soak all the media attention in his Malaysian debut, McIlroy was full of praise of his eight-year-old Malaysian pro-am team partner Galvin Green.
“I had a hole-in-one on the fourth, our last hole, which was nice but I played with a kid called Galvin who is absolutely awesome. I really can’t get over how good he is and that really made the day. He is the World Under-8 champion. He is better than I was at his age and an incredibly talented prospect for the future. It was nice to play with him and even though I played pretty well, he made me look pretty average,” said McIlroy.
Clarke enjoyed a first ever pro-am outing in the company of the His Majesty, the King of Malaysia Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, but hopes to be crowned the champion of this weeks’ Maybank Malaysian Open.
Having slipped down the world rankings, the Irishman forced himself to watch the recent WGC Accenture Match Play, exclusive to the world’s top-64 players, on television. “I was putting myself through it. I wanted to be there and obviously haven’t played well enough to be there,” he said.
“There are a lot of chances here, the greens are obviously grainy but the course is very good,” added Clarke, who is searching for his first win since 2005.
He added that the Asian Tour stars will have the advantage once again on their home ground. “If you look at the winners of the two events in India, there is a lot to be said of local knowledge.”
Local hero Airil Rizman, winner of the Pakistan Open last year, will be literally on his toes as bids for a strong week at the Maybank Malaysian Open. The Malaysian cut his toe last week which is causing some discomfort but hopes to tip-toe his way into contention this weekend.
“Everything is working well. I hope to be ready by tomorrow and get set for the four rounds ahead. But a small incident occurred two days ago. I cut my left toe nail a bit too deep and it hurts. I thought it would be alright by today but there is still a slight swell. It doesn’t affect my game but I know it’s there,” he said.
“I think we have a solid field this week with many big stars here. I hope to shoot low rounds and definitely aim to finish good. I’m supposed to feel the same with every tournament on the Asian Tour. But of course I will feel more pressure in front of the home crowd here at the Maybank Malaysian Open,” said Airil.
W: http://www.asiantour.com/
The exciting 18-year-old talent, pictured right, signalled his intentions to lift his maiden professional victory with a nine-under-par 63 during the pro-am which included a magical hole-in-one at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.
While McIlroy knows he shouldn’t read too much into today’s exploits, much can certainly be expected from the Irish youngster, who has the game, poise and looks to become a global star.
McIlroy, who hails from Hollywood, near Belfast in Northern Ireland, will face a strong line-up of stars from the Asian Tour and European Tour who includes last season’s Asian number one Liang Wen-chong of China, India’s Arjun Atwal, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and Ryder Cup stalwarts Darren Clarke, David Howell and Paul McGinley.
Asian Tour’s Order of Merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand, who has won back-to-back titles and risen to 64th in the world, is strongly tipped to ride on his rich vein of form in Malaysia.
With a wonderful track record since turning professional at the end of last year, McIlroy, the 2007 world amateur number one, said he was hoping to enjoy a memorable first visit to Malaysia.
“It is my first time here and I am very impressed with the golf course. It is a very old fashioned, traditional layout and the greens are great. The rain has helped soften it up and the greens are rolling great.
“I haven’t seen much of Kuala Lumpur yet but hope to go out in the city and see the Petronas Twin Towers. But it seems a nice country and a bit different to what I am used to. I am really looking forward to the week,” said McIlroy.
McIlroy captured the public eye when he shot a bogey-free 68 in the opening round of last year's Open in Carnoustie. After the Walker Cup match against the United States, he turned professional and finished third in his second professional tournament at the Dunhill Links Championship to secure his card in Europe.
He also finished joint fourth in his third event but the Irish phenom certainly has the confidence in him to know that a victory is just around the corner. But rather than soak all the media attention in his Malaysian debut, McIlroy was full of praise of his eight-year-old Malaysian pro-am team partner Galvin Green.
“I had a hole-in-one on the fourth, our last hole, which was nice but I played with a kid called Galvin who is absolutely awesome. I really can’t get over how good he is and that really made the day. He is the World Under-8 champion. He is better than I was at his age and an incredibly talented prospect for the future. It was nice to play with him and even though I played pretty well, he made me look pretty average,” said McIlroy.
Clarke enjoyed a first ever pro-am outing in the company of the His Majesty, the King of Malaysia Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, but hopes to be crowned the champion of this weeks’ Maybank Malaysian Open.
Having slipped down the world rankings, the Irishman forced himself to watch the recent WGC Accenture Match Play, exclusive to the world’s top-64 players, on television. “I was putting myself through it. I wanted to be there and obviously haven’t played well enough to be there,” he said.
“There are a lot of chances here, the greens are obviously grainy but the course is very good,” added Clarke, who is searching for his first win since 2005.
He added that the Asian Tour stars will have the advantage once again on their home ground. “If you look at the winners of the two events in India, there is a lot to be said of local knowledge.”
Local hero Airil Rizman, winner of the Pakistan Open last year, will be literally on his toes as bids for a strong week at the Maybank Malaysian Open. The Malaysian cut his toe last week which is causing some discomfort but hopes to tip-toe his way into contention this weekend.
“Everything is working well. I hope to be ready by tomorrow and get set for the four rounds ahead. But a small incident occurred two days ago. I cut my left toe nail a bit too deep and it hurts. I thought it would be alright by today but there is still a slight swell. It doesn’t affect my game but I know it’s there,” he said.
“I think we have a solid field this week with many big stars here. I hope to shoot low rounds and definitely aim to finish good. I’m supposed to feel the same with every tournament on the Asian Tour. But of course I will feel more pressure in front of the home crowd here at the Maybank Malaysian Open,” said Airil.
W: http://www.asiantour.com/
Labels: Pro Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Tuesday, March 04, 2008
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