Asian Tour Press Release

DOUGHERTY DAZZLES WITH A 62 TO
LEAD MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN

Kuala Lumpur, March 6: Englishman Nick Dougherty enjoyed his lowest round of his career when he fired a dazzling 10-under-par 62 for a two-shot lead after the first round of the Maybank Malaysian Open today.
The talented Dougherty, searching for a third career victory, took advantage of calm conditions at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, blasting 10 birdies in his morning round to lead from compatriot Simon Dyson and Australian Marcus Fraser, who shot matching 64s.
Danny Chia, hoping to end Malaysia’s long wait for a local winner in the Open, enjoyed a flying start with a 65 for a share of fourth place alongside Argentine Daniel Vancsik, South African Keith Horne and Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen.
Indian rising star S.S.P. Chowrasia, in-form New Zealander Mark Brown and title holder Peter Hedblom of Sweden were amongst those who shot 66s to lie four back in the US$2 million showpiece sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Dougherty admitted he had visions of shooting a magical 59 which has never been achieved on both Tours when he got to 10 under par through 13 holes. But the birdies ran out and although his flying round was one better than the course record, it will not be considered an official mark as the preferred lie ruling was in play.
“It is a great start to the tournament, it’s my lowest round on Tour which is always nice, especially on the opening round which sets you up nicely for the tournament,” said Dougherty, who reeled three straight birdies from his second hole of the day, the 11th and then produced an amazing run of seven on the trot from the 16th hole.
“I knew I had an opportunity (to shoot 59) but to be honest, it didn’t really bother me. In the end, of course I wanted to shoot 59 but it didn’t change the way I played any of the holes. I played nice, I played good. I drove the ball well and putted really well. My iron work wasn’t up to much but the good thing was that my misses were all in the right places and I think that shows how much I have improved in the last few years.”
Dyson was relishing being back in familiar territory as he enjoyed a memorable rookie season in 2000 by winning the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit with three wins. Matching halves of 32s saw him stay on his good friend’s heels.
“I saw what he was doing all the way round and knew I had to make some birdies to keep behind my pal,” said Dyson, who has now won five times in his career.
Although he has the experience in dealing with the heat and humidity in Malaysia, Dyson was well prepared for the challenge. “I know what to expect. I prepare for it a week or two in advance and go in a sauna every day for a couple of weeks in advance. I know I have to drink a lot. A lot of people don’t and think they are feeling fine and suddenly with four holes to go they are gone,” said Dyson.
Chia, the first Malaysian to win on the Asian Tour in 2002, showed signs of his old form by sinking seven birdies on his former home course to lie three strokes behind the leader. By his own admission, his game has been hit and miss over the last few seasons which prompted him to see a sports psychologist for the first time last year.
“I’ve been working on my pre-shot routine with the sports psychologist (Andrea Furst) and the results are beginning to show. Since December I’ve felt better and I’ve been doing a good job on the golf course,” said Chia, who was tied fifth in the SAIL Open in India last month.
“It is been disappointing the last two to three years. I’ve been getting in my own way and I know what I need to do,” he added.
It was also a welcome return to form for Chowrasia, who won the EMAAR-MGF Indian Masters last month but subsequently missed his last two cuts.
“My driving and my putting were the biggest difference. I was driving it solid and my putting was much better today compared to how it was in my last two events,” said Chowrasia.
“I’m using a new driver this week and I’m hitting it straight which helps. Since arriving on Monday, I’ve been working hard on my putting too. So I’m pleased to see the outcome today.”
Brown maintained his red-hot form and his seven-birdie round put him in touch with a hat-trick of wins after back-to-back triumphs in India. After struggling to get a good night’s sleep, the Kiwi was happy to be back on the golf course.
“I was thinking about what’s happening in my life and soaking things in. I was also alert and not wanting to miss my alarm and my mind was just thinking a lot. But I was calm out on course,” said Brown, who is now ranked 64th in the world.
The downward spiral of former US Open champion Michael Campbell. The New Zealander, who traces his roots to Edinburgh, is bottom of the heap with an 84.

FIRST ROUND SCORES
Par 72
62 Nick Dougherty
64 Simon Dyson, Marcus Fraser (Aus)
65 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Keith Horne (Rsa), Danny Chia (Mal)
66 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Graeme McDowell, Oliver Wilson, Scott Strange (Aus), Rafael Echenique (Arg), Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Mark Brown (US), Peter Hedblom (Swe), Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind)
67 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Bryan Saltus (US), Gaurav Ghei (Ind), Marcus Both (Aus), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), Chinarat Phadungsil (Tha), Lei Shang (Tpe), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Kane Webber (US)
68 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Anton Haig (Rsa), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Wen-Tang Lin (Tai), Lian-Wei Zhang (Can), Oliver Fisher, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Tony Carolan (Aus), Scott Barr (Aus)
69 Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Simon Yates, Peter Lawrie, Simon Wakefield, Graeme Storm, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por), Young-Woo Nam (Kor), Artemio Murakami (Phi), Zane Scotland (Gbr), Henrik Nystrom (Swe), Andrew Coltart, Chris Rodgers, Darren Clarke, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus), Stephen Scahill (NZ), Shaaban Hussein (Mal), Angelo Que (Phi)
70 Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Prom Meesawat (Tha), David Griffiths, David Frost (Rsa), Anthony Kang (US), Felipe Aguilar (Chi), Ted Oh (Kor), Richard Lee (Can), Gregory Havret (Fra), Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe), Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), David Lynn, Ross Bain, Siva Chandhran (Mal), Gary Murphy, Carl Suneson (Spa), Taichiro Kiyota (Jpn), Sung Lee (Kor), Stephen Gallacher, Arjun Atwal (Ind), Iain Steel (Mal), Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Gavin Flint (Aus)
71 S Murthy (Mal), Wei Chih Lu (Tha), Frankie Minoza (Phi), Damien McGrane, Jean Van de Velde (Fra), Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Nicholas Fung (Mal), Hendrik Buhrmann (Rsa), Adam Blyth (Aus), Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), David Gleeson (Aus), David Howell, Rashid Ismail (Mal), Paul Broadhurst, Jason Knutzon (US), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Paul McGinley, Thomas Levet (Fra)
72 Zaw Moe (Kor), Johan Edfors (Swe), Richard Moir (Aus), Juvic Pagunsan (Phi), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Alastair Forsyth, Chapchai Nirat (Tha), Keng-chi Lin (Tai), Christian Cevaer (Fra), Shaifubari Muda (Mal), Garry Houston, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Scott Drummond, Steven Tan (Mal), Mardan Mamat (Sin), Thammanoon Srirot (Tha), Tom Whitehouse, Ariel Canete (Arg), Mark Foster
73 Yasin Ali, Haziq Hamizan (Mal), Phillip Price, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Unho Park (Aus), Sang-moon Bae (Kor), Shukree Othman (Mal), Michael Jonzon (Swe), Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Wen-chong Liang (Chn), David Bransdon (Aus), Jong Yul Suk (Kor), Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Pablo Martin (Spa), Sam Little
74 Airil Rizman (Mal), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Pelle Edberg (Swe), Ben Leong (Mal), Adam Groom (Aus), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Sam Walker, Akhmal Tarmizee (Mal), Simon Hurd
75 Antonio Lascuna (Phi), Scott Hend (Aus), Rory McIlroy, Gary Simpson (Aus), Stephen Dodd, Faridil Atras (Mal), Phillip Archer, Clay Devers (USA)
76 Gerald Rosales (Phi), Amandeep Johl (Ind), Chawalit Plaphol (Tha)
77 Edmund Au (Mal), Rosli Johari (Mal), Rhys Davies, Simon Griffiths
78 Rick Kulacz (Aus)
84 Michael Campbell (NZ)