Terry Price shares Carlsberg Malaysian Open lead

BY iseekgolf.com | Asian Tour | 2004 Malaysian Open | Round One | 19 Feb 2004

Rising star Jamie Elson, Martin Maritz, a man who can also relate to the word rise, and veteran Terry Price climbed into the first round lead at the Carlsberg Malaysian Open today.

England’s Elson and South African Maritz, who is one of The European Tour’s tallest players, and Australian Price fired six-under-par 66s at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

They lead by a shot from Malaysia’s Airil Rizman Zahari in the US$1.21 million event, which is being joint-sanctioned by Europe and Asia.

Ireland’s Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington shots rounds of 68 and 69 respectively while Scotland’s Colin Montogmerie carded a 73.

Elson, suffering from food poisoning, birdied the final three holes on a course that he competed on in the 2002 Eisenhower Trophy for Great Britain and Ireland.

“I only played seven holes in practice because I have food poisoning. We walked the back nine before I played this afternoon just to refresh the memory,” said Elson, who fell sick on Tuesday along with his room-mate Richard McEvoy after eating some chicken nuggets and calamari.

The former amateur star, along with McEvoy, was part of the Walker Cup team that beat the United States in 2001 and attended Augusta State University.

This year marks his rookie season on The European Tour and interestingly his father Pip is soon to embark on his first season on The European Seniors Tour. Elson senior was Rookie of the Year in Europe in 1973, and turns 50 in April.

“I am not sure when he will start. He is being a bit vague. His first one might be in Italy. I am encouraging him to play more. It would be nice to see him play,” added Elson, who graduated from the Challenge Tour last year helped by a victory in the Volvo Finnish Open.

Maritz stands six feet five inches tall, a height only matched on The European Tour by Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, and clearly benefited from getting a good view of the course.

“I have been waiting for something to happen. It feels like I am really close to achieving some of my goals. I haven’t got off to the greatest of starts but was encouraged last week when I finished 21st,” said the Springbok, who started his round on the 10th.

He fired eight birdies and two bogies, the second of which came on the eighth where he was shocked to top his tee shot.

“It was almost a disaster and out of the blue as I have been driving so well. We searched for ages and eventually found it. I haven’t topped a shot for years. I had no idea where it came from. I felt so comfortable and confident with my swing and just had a bad stroke. It only went about 100 yards, luckily it went straight,” said Maritz.

In-form Price won the New Zealand Open this year but wasn’t sure if would play this week due to a neck injury.

“I was feeling doubtful about this week. It’s only because I’ve had good treatment from the guys (physios) here and I think the hot weather has helped as well,” said Price, whose caddie Tim Brasher has played 18 Rugby league test matches for Australia.

Airil, along with the large local gallery, was delighted with his opening round. He was ranked Malaysia’s top amateur for several seasons before making the transition to the paid ranks in 2002. He missed the cut last year but is on course for a vastly improved performance this week.

“I just went out there with the aim of shooting birdies. I didn’t have any expectations, so I’m surprised with my score. I played well today and missed only one fairway, which is key here. It’s only the first day, there is a long way to go,” said Airil, who won last year’s Malaysian PGA Championship.

Source – Asian PGA Tour