KUALA LUMPUR: Five Malaysians, led by former World Cupper P. Gunasegaran, made the halfway cut for the Malaysian Open before the third round was suspended for the day.
It is the first time there is such a big representation of local players in the weekend play since the Open was co-sanctioned by the Asian PGA and European Tours in 1999.
The cut was set at one-under-141 this year. Besides Gunasegaran, the others who qualified were S. Murthy, Shaaban Hussein, S. Sivachandran and V. Arumugam.
Gunasegaran was the only Malaysian golfer to make the cut in last year's competition, which was held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club. He was tied in 58th place last year and will be attempting to improve on his position this time.
It should not prove too difficult a task as Gunasegaran made the cut in jointh eighth place with a two-day total of six-under 136. The 1994 Malaysian Open runner-up was at four-under at the 12th hole before play was called off for the day.
Joining him in the third round is Murthy, who finished with a 69 in the second round for a two-day total of six-under-136.
In the third round of play, Murthy was five-under at the 12th hole.
Shaaban, who turned professional last month, also made the cut for the third round when he carded a 71 to finish at two-under 140.
His former teammate in the national team, Sivachandran, also performed impressively yesterday, becoming the only local amateur to qualify for the weekend play. He shot a bogey-free 69 for a two-day total of two-under 140 for the tournament.
Sivachandran, who competed in the men’s Amateur World Team Cup competition and was part of the KL SEA Games winning team, improved his score to three-under after playing 10 holes in the third round.
Arumugam scraped into the third round when he, too, finished the second round with a 69. He made the list at one-under 141.
It is the first time there is such a big representation of local players in the weekend play since the Open was co-sanctioned by the Asian PGA and European Tours in 1999.
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