Dannu Chia
Malaysia’s Danny Chia enjoyed the company of Major champions Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa during the third round of the Maybank Malaysian Open on Saturday.
Chia, the sole bearer of the Malaysian flag at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, was even-par through 11 holes to lie in tied 55thplace in the tournament which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The third round was suspended due to darkness and will resume at 7.40pm on Sunday.
He returned this morning to complete the second round and had approximately seven hours of rest before his third round tee off. The break was the perfect tonic for Chia, who endured a sleepless night.
“I was quite confident of returning with a good score when play was suspended yesterday but I received a lot of phone calls at night (Friday) telling me that I’m the only Malaysian with a chance of making the cut. That got me thinking a lot and I couldn’t get enough sleep,” said the 39-year-old.
He posted four birdies against as many bogeys and was delighted with the experience of playing with newly crowned Masters winner Schwartzel and 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.
He will have the opportunity to play with them again as there will not be a re-draw in the final round.
“I learned how they swing, how they hit the ball. It was good, we had fun on the golf course. I'm trying my best to not make any bogeys but I can’t stop hitting badly. I’ll try to salvage my round tomorrow,” he added.
Chia, who has won once on the Asian Tour, is also the first Malaysian to play in all four rounds of the British Open last year.
He was tied for the lead after the second of the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2008 before a disastrous third round 80. He came close again in the following year where he took the halfway lead before signing off in tied 11th place.
