Johor Baru, Oct 3: Despite four bogeys, Nazri Zain managed to seize the first-round lead at the Camry Cup. He shot an impressive two-under 70 with six birdies, giving him a slim one-shot advantage at Forest City Golf Resort today.
The Kelantan-born golfer, who has maintained a flawless record of not missing a cut in the last seven Toyota Tour events, expressed his satisfaction with his game. He attributed his performance to patience and commented, “I’ve played mediocre so far this season but I feel like my game is slowly coming together.”
Four players closely trail Nazri with scores of one-under 71, including seasoned golfers Shaifubari Muda, Sukree Othman, Kenneth De Silva, and Syakir Adli. Sukree, in particular, had an impressive start, carding four birdies and reaching four-under at one point on his front nine. However, he struggled on his way back with three bogeys. Sukree acknowledged the challenging course conditions, stating, “Gosh, the course is playing tough.”
Shaifubari also noted the challenging conditions, especially when playing against the wind. He praised the course layout and its immaculate fairways but emphasized that it presented a real challenge for shorter hitters.
The Forest City Golf Resort measures a substantial 7,386 yards, and several pros felt it played even longer due to the challenging conditions. While five players managed to break par, only one, Kenneth, achieved a clean scorecard with no bogeys, securing his lone birdie on the Par 4 ninth hole.
The Camry Cup is the eighth leg of the Toyota Tour, organized by the PGM and delivered by MST Golf Group. Upcoming events in the tour include the Alphard Cup at Kota Seriemas Golf Club in two weeks and the ADT Toyota Championship at Saujana GCC next month.
In the Ladies championship, amateur Ng Jing Xuen, Geraldine Wong, and Dianne Luke lead the pack with one-over 73s. They hold a two-stroke lead over Pang Hee Jie and Audrey Tan as they head into the next round.
Order of Merit leader Aretha Pan had a challenging day, recording just one birdie but struggling with five bogeys and a double, resulting in a six-over 78.
Leading Scores (Men):
- 70 Nazri Zain
- 71 Sukree Othman, Syakir Adli, Kenneth De Silva, Shaifubari Muda
- 72 Daeng Abdul Rahman, Kemarol Baharin, Wafiyuddin Manaf, Izzat Safuan, Nor Harith Hadi
- 73 Faisal Sabudin, Kim Leun Kwang, Khor Kheng Hwai, Azry Asraf, Muhazim Bakhtiar
- 74 Loh Junyou, Nateeshvar Ganesh (am), Syady Sheikh, S. Siva Chandhran
Ladies:
- 73 Dianne Luke, Ng Jing Xuen (am), Geraldine Wong
- 75 Pang Hee Jie (am), Audrey Tan
- 76 Jocelyn Chee, Durriyah Damian
- 77 Michelle Koh
- 78 Aretha Pan
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