Chia maintains lead at CIMB National Championship

Kuala Lumpur: Seasoned campaigner Danny Chia retained his one shot overnight lead at the CIMB National Championship after scrambling to a one-over-par 73 in Thursday's round at the TPC Kuala Lumpur in Bukit Kiara, here.He fought back from a mid-round wobble where he dropped four shots on the 12th and 13th holes to stay in a position to win the RM200,000 tournament which also rewards the winner with a ticket to the prestigious CIMB Classic scheduled from Oct 12-15.

"It got windy on the back nine and I made a triple bogey on Hole number 12. That wasn't very nice.

But I managed to keep myself in the game. I just told myself after the 14th hole I needed one or two birdies coming home to make my bad day feel not so bad. Thankfully, I managed to birdie on the 17th hole.

"Hopefully I can keep putting like today but I need to hit it much better. I was all over the place with the driver.

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Looking at it, one over par today is a good score. Today was just an off day with the driver.

However, I'm excited about tomorrow and I've not won for a while, so it'll be nice to win this.

Qualifying for the CIMB Classic will be a good bonus," said the 44-year-old.

Rookie Amir Nazrin Jailani and last year's runner-up Ben Leong shot a 72 and 71 respectively to share second place.

"Conditions were harder with the wind. The pins were also quite tough. Playing with Ben Leong (in the same flight), who is a top player, gave me some pressure but I dealt with it quite well.

"I struggled with my putter but I managed to put in a score. I'm really excited as it's my first time playing in the qualifying. I'll try my best tomorrow. My approach play has been solid this week and it's helped put me in this position," said Amir Nazrin.

Meanwhile, defending champion, Gavin Kyle Green stayed within striking distance following a 72 to share fourth place with Wilson Choo.

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"I'm within striking distance which is good. For me if I keep giving myself chances, it's all I can ask for.

You can't force a score. I'm hitting it good, so just keep at it. See what happens tomorrow," said Green. – Bernama

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