Kim's royal appointment

American Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim was taken aback in the pro-am for the Maybank Malaysian Open today when he discovered one of his partners was the King of Malaysia.

The 23-year-old said of his day out with His Royal Highness Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin: “It was quite an honour. He was a really funny guy, and it was a blast to go out there and play a round of golf with him.”

Kim, the world number 11, is making his second appearance of the season on the European Tour. But at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in November, he was disqualified for using a driver he had damaged on a sprinkler head.

“The Race to Dubai is a big motivation for me and is one of the reasons I am here,” he said.

“I want to be a global player, and it is important for me to go to different countries and experience new venues.”