UNFAZED MASRIN TRAILS PIETERS BY 

ONE AT THE MAYBANK CHAMPIONSHIP

Danny Masrin of Indonesia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 22: Indonesia’s Danny Masrin remained unfazed by the prospect of going up against his more illustrious rivals as he charged up the leaderboard to trail Belgium’s Thomas Pieters by one shot in tied-second place at the Maybank Championship on Friday.

Masrin, who is playing under the ASEAN invite category this week, did not display any signs of nerve as he continued to put himself in contention at the US$3 million event with his two-day total of seven-under-par 137.

After opening with a three-under-par 69 at the Saujana Golf and Country Club, the Indonesian went one better as he traded seven birdies and a three bogeys to sign for a 68 and a share of second place with Spain’s Nacho Elvira.

Pieters, who is one half of the Belgium’s World Cup of Golf winning duo in Melbourne last November, started the day two shots off the lead in sixth place. 

He suffered an early setback with a bogey on two but responded well with four birdies on holes four, 10, 13 and 16 to take his place atop the leaderboard. 

American Paul Peterson made light work of the sweltering heat in Malaysia by signing for a 68 to make his move up the leaderboard and take a share of fourth place that also included Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa, Thailand’s Jazz Janaewattananond and 2014 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion David Lipsky of the United States.

Starting the day five shots off the lead, Peterson was among the early morning starters and he went off quickly by firing birdies on 11 and 18 to quickly close the gap in his opening back-nine 10. 

The American, who won his only Asian Tour title in Myanmar in 2018, continued to sink even more birdies on holes one, three and five to put himself into a commanding position for the weekend rounds.

Thailand’s Prom Meesawat was also in the heat of the battle but he returned unscathed after firing a 71 to stay close to the leaders in a share of 11th place. 

The weekend cut was set at even-par with 74 players making the cut.

Players’ Quotes

Danny Masrin (Ina), Second round 68 (-4), Total 137 (-7)
It’s nice to be in the first group to tee off both yesterday and today. It lets you get off to a good pace and you don’t have to worry about the groups in front of you. I had a slow start on the front-nine, made some good birdies but also made some soft bogeys too and missed a few short putts. But I really got it going on my back-nine.
 It got a little blurry for me as I got five birdies with one three-putt bogey on a par-five there. But all in all, I’m very happy. I’ve focusing on my processes and so far it has been really good. I’m going to treat this as another golf tournament and not put too pressure on myself. I’ll go through the same routine, process. 
The target every day is to cut the lead as much as I can. I don’t want to think too much about the scale of the event. This is probably the biggest I’ve played. I was able to stay focused and my game plan and I did that well. I’m very grateful to Maybank for extending this invitation to me as one of the five ASEAN invites. The Maybank Championship is an event I’ve always wanted to be a part of and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.  Hopefully I can make Indonesia proud this week!

Thomas Pieters (Bel), Second round 69, Total 136 (-8)
I struggled off the tee early on, at the end it was a lot better. It didn't feel like a good day to me, I made the best of what I had. I gave myself a lot of chances but I couldn't seem to get the ball in the hole. I birdied 16, the par-three, it was a nice putt. But other than that I felt like I was missing putts all over the place. I tried not to over read the putt on 16. When you miss a couple of putts you try not to read too much into it. I just put it down, looked once, and gave it a go.

Paul Peterson (Usa), Second round 68 (-6), Total 136 (-6)
I’m driving the ball well and I love this place. I like coming to Malaysia in general. I got off to a good start and put myself in a good spot going into the weekend.

I made the decision last week to go home and get a bit of rest before going into this week and India, as these are the two events that I have played well in the past. I wanted to come in refreshed and recharged. Right now, I like the decision that I made and I’m looking forward to another couple of hot days in Malaysia. 

This golf course definitely seems to give out some low numbers on the weekend historically. It was a 62 last year to win it. I'm pacing myself nicely and if we could have an even better round mixed in on the weekend we'll be where we want to be. 

Prom Meesawat (Tha) Second round 71 (-1), Total 139 (-5)
I’m very happy I’m in contention especially knowing that this golf course is not an easy one. You have to be physically fit too as it gets really hot in the day. You have to manage yourself very well. I’ve played really good golf today.
 I tried to put the ball in a good position but some pin positions can be very tricky here if you fail to put it on the right spot. You’re going to get into trouble. The key to doing well for me this week is my putting. I just try to do the same things like what I’ve done the last two days. I also want to enjoy my moment here with my friends and family as the atmosphere here is unbelievable. 

Leading scores after round 2 of the Maybank Championship being played at the par 72, 7136 Yards Saujana GCC course (am - denotes amateur):
PAR 144
136 - Thomas Pieters (BEL) 67-69.
137 - Danny Masrin (INA) 69-68, Nacho Elvira (ESP) 65-72.
138 - Paul Peterson (USA) 70-68, Lucas Herbert (AUS) 69-69, Maximilian Kieffer (GER) 71-67, Ernie Els (RSA) 68-70, Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 66-72, David Lipsky (USA) 72-66, Dean Burmester (RSA) 68-70.
139 - Masahiro Kawamura (JPN) 69-70, Prom Meesawat (THA) 68-71, Guido Migliozzi (ITA) 71-68, Zach Murray (AUS) 68-71, Scott Hend (AUS) 69-70, Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 71-68.
140 - Louis De Jager (RSA) 71-69, Julian Suri (USA) 69-71, Erik Van Rooyen (RSA) 71-69, Andrea Pavan (ITA) 69-71, Oliver Fisher (ENG) 70-70.
141 - Siddikur Rahman (BAN) 70-71, Nicholas Fung (MAS) 68-73, Kurt Kitayama (USA) 70-71, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 72-69, Johannes Veerman (USA) 72-69, Matthias Schwab (AUT) 66-75, Thomas Detry (BEL) 70-71, Darren Fichardt (RSA) 76-65.

SCOTS' SCORES
144 David Law 73 71 (T55)
146 Stephen Gallacher 74 72 (T88)

For full results, CLICK  here