Elson defies heat and illness

Jamie Elson defied heat and treacherous greens to charge into a share of the lead at the Carlsberg Malaysian Open with an opening round of six-under-par.

The British 22-year-old – son of Pip Elson, the former Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year – finished with three consecutive birdies to join towering South African Martin Maritz and Australian Terry Price on top of the leaderboard.

Elson had suffered with food poisoning after arriving in Kuala Lumpur and had hardly practised but his knowledge of the Saujana Golf and Country Club, where he played in the 2002 Eisenhower Trophy, proved invaluable.

“Course management is key around here and it is quite a tough course,” said the Augusta State graduate after dropping just one shot, on the controversial fifth.

“I played lovely today, really good. I putted lovely today. I was reading the grain very well. The greens are very grainy out there.

“My irons were good off the tee, fairly accurate. I was hitting them to a good distance.

“I don’t think the scoring will be outrageous this week.”

Malaysia’s Airil-Rizman Zahari finished the day in second on five-under, one shot ahead of Paul McGinley and the pack, who opened with a 68, including Wales’ Stephen Dodd and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.

Padraig Harrington finished the day one shot further back alongside Englishmen David Howell and Jamie Hepworth and remains firmly in the hunt after a solid 69.

But way off the pace, after a disastrous collapse, was Colin Montgomerie who dropped five shots in his last five holes to finish on one-over-par.

The 40-year-old, who was four-under at one stage, fell victim to the treacherous par-three fifth, described later by tournament leader Maritz as “borderline impossible“, and never recovered.

His first putt disappeared off the green. He chipped back on but his next putt lipped out. The smiling, talkative figure who had taken to the tee was now furious and frustrated.

The double-bogey six sparked a collapse as Montgomerie went on to bogey three of his final four holes and signed for his 73 red-faced and distressed.

“I finished with five fives, that is there is to say. The heat got to me. I am going off to find some headache pills and lie down,” was all he said.

Montgomerie was not alone in faltering on the fifth green and its devilishly difficult pin position.

Forty-four of the field dropped one shot there, 12 others, including Zhang Lian-Wei, Joachim Haegmann and Andrew Coltart, double-bogeyed while Denmark’s Soren Hansen was one of three to card triple-bogey sixes.

Coltart went to warn McGinley of the perils before he teed off and the Irishman escaped with a par, though he questioned the wisdom of the pin-placement.

“It was wrong. I know some guys got caught. I think the officials know it is wrong,” he said.

“It was certainly a mistake. It’s a very tricky green. I can see what guys got annoyed about. There is no question, it is annoying.”

“The greens are extremely tricky and difficult but I putted lovely.

“It was my day. A couple of times I was lagging putts and they went in the hole. When those things happen it is obviously your day. Overall I am pleased.”

Howell took last week off after his caddie suffered a diabetic fit ahead of the ANZ Championship in Australia but came back to card a 69.

Level with him and Harrington on three-under was Hepworth, Elson’s room-mate Richard McEvoy, Frenchman Thomas Levet and 1999 champion, Gerry Norquist of America.

Peter Baker, meanwhile, endured a horror round that included double bogeys on three and four, followed by another dropped shot on the fifth.

The 36-year-old eventually finished his round with an eight-over-par 80 and immediately withdrew from the tournament, citing exhaustion.

Australian Andrew Both opened the day with a birdie and then a sensational hole-in-one on the 172-yard par three second, but slumped back to finish on two-over-par.