THE last Malaysian standing at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Shaaban Hussin (pic), felt a tinge of sadness as 21 of his compatriots fell at the halfway-cut of the Maybank Malaysian Open.And Shaaban also had a torrid day, as he played a total of 27 holes and was dead tired in the last four holes, resulting in a string of bogies which saw him finish at three over 75, for a three round total of 217.
“I felt a bit shaky when I started my uncompleted nine holes this morning. The pressure piled on me when the crowd started shouting that I’m the only Malaysian who has a chance of making the cut. That didn’t help with the nerves! My caddy told me to ignore them and that calmed me down a bit,” said Shaaban.
"And after I completed my second round, I felt very sad when none of the other Malaysians managed to get past the cut, and it was a heavy feeling, but I had to soldier on and it was not easy playing 27 holes in a day," said Shaaban.
He completed nine holes of the second round in the morning, and after an hours rest, continued 18 in the third round.
"I had very little time to rest and practice. But the first nine was good, as I managed to hold onto my game, but the return was bad as the muscles started to tire.
"Also, our flight was a little slow and after a warning from the marshal, we picked up pace in the last four holes and that is when I hit three bogies in a row and spoilt my game," said Shaaban.
His six bogies were on the 6th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 17th while the birdies were on 8th, 9th and 14th.
"It was good that I managed to save par on the 18th, and in the final round, I must play more consistently and if I can get five under, it would be a good finish," said the lanky golfer.
“It would have been better if the round did not stop yesterday (second round). I had the momentum going and just couldn’t find my rhythm today (third round). You can’t do anything with the weather delays. I’m disappointed, I won’t deny that,” he said.
Whe asked how many times he played at KLGCC this year: "I only played about four times here as I had many other commitments and tournaments every weekend."
