Mohd Sukree Othman birdied four of his last six holes for a five-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead after the first round of the CIMB National Championship at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East course on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old Sukree produced a bogey-free card to edge ahead of R. Nachimuthu, Alex Tiong Wei Zen, Kim Leun Kwang and Amir Nazrin Jailani, who returned identical 67s, in the RM200,000 tournament which will reward the winner with a spot in next month’s US$7 million CIMB Classic, the only PGA TOUR tournament held in Southeast Asia.

After turning in one-under with a birdie on the third hole, Sukree’s game caught fire late in his round as he reeled in three straight birdies on 13, 14 and 15 before signing off with another closing birdie on 18.

“I drove it well and hit my irons consistently. I struggled with my putting early on and then got lucky on the back nine where I holed putts of 20 feet and 15 feet on 13 and 14,” said Sukree, winner of nine domestic tournaments.

“I’ve tried to qualify for the CIMB Classic ever year … last year, I came in fifth so hopefully I can get it done this week. It’s a great chance to play against PGA TOUR players as we’ll never get a chance to play in America.”

Amir, 21, shot seven birdies against three bogeys to stay on Sukree’s heels. Last year, he finished third, one shot behind the playoff duo of Danny Chia and Gavin Green, and is hoping to keep up his chase for a first PGA TOUR start at the CIMB Classic.

“The main goal is to win, but in the first few days, it’ll be important to keep up with the chase and stay in position,” he said. “I’ll try to keep my momentum going and minimize my mistakes.”

The surprise of the day came from Tiong, a 29-year-old who gave up full-time touring to become a teaching professional. He stayed bogey-free and shot four birdies for T2 position.

“I putted really well, and kept ball on the fairway and hit 16 greens which is pretty good. On my front nine, I hit every green but nothing dropped until the 18th hole for my first birdie and then I made three more birdies on the back nine. This is a nice surprise,” said Tiong.

The winner of the CIMB National Championship will have the opportunity to face PGA TOUR stars including 2017 FedExCup champion Justin Thomas, CIMB Classic defending champion Pat Perez, Keegan Bradley, Ryder Cup star Paul Casey, Japanese ace Hideki Matsuyama, 2017 Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele and World Golf Hall of Fame members, Ernie Els and Davis Love III.

The CIMB Classic will be held at TPC Kuala Lumpur’s West course from October 11 to 14 where it is the second leg of the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season. 

Apart from this week’s winner earning a spot, the highest ranked Malaysian on the Official World Golf Ranking as of October 1 will also earn the right to play in the CIMB Classic.

The CIMB Classic features a limited but elite field of 78 players comprising of the top 60 available players from the 2017-18 PGA TOUR FedExCup points list, eight sponsor exemptions and the top-10 available players from the Asian Tour.

 Tickets for the CIMB Classic is also now on sale. For more details on ticketing prices and to purchase online, please visitwww.cimbclassic.com

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