Thai-phoon Kiradech!

THAI rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat is in position of erasing his defeat at the Maybank Malaysian Open three years ago when he pulled two shots clear with a four-under-par 68 in the second round on Saturday.
 The big-hitting Thai known for his grip-it and rip-it style of golf which somewhat mirrors John Daly’s game, returned this morning to finish the second round after play was abandoned on Friday.
 The halfway cut was set an even-par 144 with 73 players making the cut. World number three Luke Donald of England will not feature in the last two rounds after shooting a three-over-par 147.
 Kiradech made eight straight pars when play was resumed at 7.45am at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club but kept a cool head on a rather steamy morning. He was rewarded for his patience with a birdie on 18 after hitting an exquisite approach to three feet.
 “I enjoyed my game. I had to cool myself down out there because I only had my first birdie of the day on the last hole. It was a good finish. I tried to stay calm out there because of the heat. I need to save my energy,” said the 23-year-old, who totalled 11-under-par 133.
 He holds a two-shot lead over former Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, Wade Ormsby of Australia, Gregory Bourdy of France and China’s Wu Ashun at the US$2.75 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
 The memory of finishing third in 2010 after going into the last day as the joint leader is still fresh in his mind but Kiradech says he is more experienced now to seal the deal for a second Asian Tour win since 2011.
 “I was very excited three years ago but I’ve learned a lot since then. I’m much older now and I learned a lot on the Asian Tour. I hope to finish better than 2010,” said Kiradech, who qualified for his first Open Championship debut through the International Final Qualifying – Asia earlier this month.
 “I’ve been playing very well since the start of the year and my game has stayed up there. My iron and approach shots are better compared to last time. My driver isn’t working as well as I would like it to be so hopefully it will work in the last two days.”
 The penultimate round will start at 1.15pm with the leading flight going off at 3.05pm which gives Kiradech time to rest and preserve energy. “I want to go back to the hotel and rest, take a shower and relax to save energy.”

Zakir Hussain: Passing of a great man

Former director general of Pakistan Sports Board and sports analyst Zakir Hussain Syed. PHOTO: EXPRESS 

(EDS  NOTE: Zakir covered the Azlan  Shah Cup in Ipoh last week and sat next to me.  I have known him for a long time as he is quite a regular at the Azlan Shah Cup in recent years. He gave me his calling card and said if I ever was in Pakistan, do visit him and he will be glad to accommodate me. RIP my friend...) 

ISLAMABAD:  Former director general of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and sports analyst Zakir Hussain Syed passed away on Thursday at Fatima Jinnah Park where he was on a routine evening walk. He was 73.

His funeral will be held on Friday at 2:30 pm at his ancestral town Kotli Amir Ali, Sialkot. He was awarded the President’s Medal for the Pride of Performance. He was the first recipient of such a highest honour in sports administration and management in the country.
Zakir Hussain was the first Pakistani chief executive of the PSB. As the youngest ever director general of the board, he came to this organisation as a virtually unknown commodity and left behind a legacy of success and brilliance.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2013.

Aphibarnrat takes clubhouse lead on seven-under

THAILAND'S rising star Kiradech Aphibarnrat battled through fatigue for a sizzling seven-under-par 65 to take the clubhouse lead in the rain-disrupted US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open opening round yesterday.
  Play was stopped at 4pm, and called off for the day an hour later when torrential rain flooded the greens and lightning lit up the sky like it was Merdeka celabrations. There were still 78 (total 156) players who had yet to complete their First Round.
  However, there are three others who finished their rounds and are snapping at the Thai's heels at six-under and they are Anders Hanson of Denmark, Edoardo Molinari of Italy and Gregory Bourdy of France. Scotland's Scott Jamieson is also at six under, but his play charged was stopped at the 10th hole by rain.
  Malaysia's S. Murthy was also in his element as he fired five-under 67 to place himself in contention for a good finish on Sunday.
  Aphibarnrat, only 23, is suffering from a thyroid disease, and had to hold back from blasting his tee shots to preserve energy on a steamy morning at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
  Despite the change in his game plan, Kiradech posted eight birdies against one bogey to hold a one-shot club-house lead.
  “The weather is too hot and the thyroid disease is making me feel tired. Honestly, I didn’t have enough energy to hit long drives. I’m still taking medication for my thyroid condition and I’ll consider going for operation when I consult my doctor in six months,” said Kiradech.
  Kiradech is enjoying a sensational season so far. He finished third at the Asian Tour’s season-opening Zaykabar Myanmar Open and qualified for his maiden appearance at The Open Championship by winning the International Final Qualifying – Asia in Thailand earlier this month. He also placed fourth at last week’s Avantha Masters.
  However, he is keeping his hopes of winning a second Asian Tour title at bay considering the condition he is in.
   “I didn’t force myself or any of my golf shots. I didn’t set myself any goals for this week. I didn’t tell myself that I should finish in the top-five or win this event. I want to take things shot by shot. When you don’t have power or energy, you can’t force yourself,” said Kiradech.
   Molinari, a two-time European Tour winner, shot his best score since March last year after working with a new coach, Sean Foley, who also trains Tiger Woods.
   “It was a good round of golf…finally. I was able to make a lot of putts but missed a short one on eight and a few other chances. I’ve been struggling for a while so it was good to have a good first round,” said Molinari.
   “He (Foley) is making big changes. I need big changes because I didn’t like the way I was playing last year. I felt it wasn’t right. I felt it was time to change. I like what he says and I have a lot more knowledge on what I’m doing on the golf course. As soon as I missed a shot on the course then I know how to fix it,” he added.
  Three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington made a good start with a three under par 69 to share tenth, but World Number Three Luke Donald could only manage a 74.

Rain spoils half the party at KLGCC...

SELECTED FIRST ROUND SCORES of the rain interrupted MALAYSIAN OPEN
65 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thai).
66 Anders Hansen (Den), Edoardo Molinari (Ita), Gregory Bourdy (Fra).
67 S. Murthy (Mas), Victor Dubisson (Fra).
68 LEE Sung (S. Kor), Fredrik Andersson (Swe), Peter Lawrie (Irl), Adilson da Silva (Bra).
69 Padraig Harrington (Irl), David Howell (Eng), Alexander Noren (Swe), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Andrew Dodt (Aus), Mark Foster (Eng), Joost Luiten (Ned), Marcus Both (Aus), Oliver Fisher (Eng).
70 Angelo Que (Phil), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), R. Nachimuthu (Mas), Chinnarat Phadungsil (Thai), Thongchai Jaidee (Thai), Emilliano Grillo (Arg), Wade Ormsby (Aus), Mardan Mamat (Sing), Tommy Fleetwood (Eng).
71 Gunn Charoenkul (Thai), Steve Webster (Eng), Stephen Gallacher(Scot), Danny Chia (Mas), Simon Khan (Eng), Thomas Aiken (SA), Lee In-woo (S. Kor), Mo Joong-kyung (S. Kor), Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Matthew Baldwin (Eng), Berry Henson (US), Jaakko Makitalo (Fin).
  72 Shiv Kapur (Ind), Julien Quesne (Fra), Digvijay Singh (Ind), Chan Yih-shin (Tai), Masanori Kobayashi (Jpn), Antonio Lascuna (Phil), Phillip Price (Wal).
  73 Zaw Moe (Myan), Thaworn Wiratchant (Thai), Thomas Levet (Fra), Michael Campbell (NZ).
  74 Luke Donald (Eng), Scott Hend (Aus), Anirban Lahiri (Ind), Arnond Vongvanij (Thai), Anthony Kang (US), Park Hyun-bin (S. Kor).
  75 Shaaban Hussin (Mas), Mithun Perera (Sri), Jason Knutzon (US), David Lipsky (US), Fabrizio Zanotti (Par), Ricardo Santos (Por).
  76 Kieran Pratt (Aus), James Morrison (Eng), Airil Zzhari (Mas).
  77 Solomon Emilio Rosidin (am, Mas), Mohamed Basharudin (Mas), Kemarol Baharin (Mas).
78 Akhmal Tarmizee (Mas), Juvic Pagunsan (Phil), Uhno Park (Aus).
79 M. Sasidaran (Mas), Hanafiah Jamil (Mas).
81 Rashid Ismail (Mas).
82 Low Khai Jei (am, Mas).

Malaysia Hockey League starts Friday..

PREMIER DIVISION: KL Hockey Club, Tenaga Nasional, Maybank, Sapura, UniKL, Nur Insafi, Terengganu.
  Division One: Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School, Bukit Jalil Sports School, UniTen KPT, UiTM, Sunday 2030, Ipoh City Council, TNB Thunderbolts.
   FRIDAY: Permier Division -- Tenaga v Terengganu (National Stadium II, 6pm), Nur Insafi v Sapura (USM, 6pm), KLHC v UniKL (National Stadium II, 8pm).
  Division One: SSTMI v Thunderbolts (Taman Daya, 6pm), Ipoh CC v UiTM (Azlan Shah, 6pm), Sunday 2030 v UniTen (National Stadium I, 6pm),  
   SATURDAY: Premier Division -- Maybank v Terengganu (National Stadium II, 6pm).
   SUNDAY: Premier Division -- Sapura v Maybank (National Stadium II, 6pm), NUr Insafi v UniKL (USM, 6pm), Tenaga v KLHC (National Stadium II, 8pm).
  Division One: Thunderbolts v UniTen (National Stadium I, 6pm),
UiTM v SSTMI (National Stadium I, 8pm), Ipoh CC v Sunday 2030 (Azlan Shah, 6pm).