Westwood out, Norquist leads Malaysian Open<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): U.S. player Gerry Norquist fired a second
\nsuccessive 67 to lead the Malaysian Open by five shots on Friday
\nas world number six Lee Westwood sensationally missed the cut.<\/p>\n
England's Westwood joined fellow European favorite Darren
\nClarke of Northern Ireland in packing his bags after shooting
\nfour over, one too many to qualify for the final 36 holes.<\/p>\n
Asian PGA tour regular Norquist, seeking a win that would give
\nhim a three year exemption on the European tour, headed a pack at
\nfive under which included fellow American Dean Wilson, defending
\nchampion Ed Fryatt of England, Spain's Tomas Munoz and Korea's
\nChoi Kyung-ju.<\/p>\n
Overnight leaders Chinese number one Zhang Lian-wei and
\nAmerican Christian Pena both shot 75 to fall back to three under.<\/p>\n
Norquist, who won the Volvo Asian Matchplay at China's Mission
\nHills in December, said his stunning form was thanks to his
\ngolfing guru in the United States -- 67-year-old amateur Ron Di
\nZinno.<\/p>\n
\"He's had as much if not more influence on my success in golf
\nas any one person,\" said Norquist, a native of Phoenix, Arizona
\nand past winner of the Malaysian Open and three other Asian PGA
\ntour events.<\/p>\n
They spent four days together working on Norquist's game --
\nparticularly putting -- before this week's championship at the
\n6,947 yard \"Cobra\" course at Saujana Golf and Country Club near
\nKuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
The three over cut after 36 holes spelled the end for Westwood
\nand Clarke, two of the favorites at the US$750,000 event, the
\nfirst championship to bring together the Asian and European
\ntours.<\/p>\n
Past winner Westwood shot a level par 72 to trail the leader
\nby 14 shots, while Clarke ballooned to 79 to finish on 11 over.<\/p>\n
Westwood blamed his eight week lay off, saying: \"I've lost my
\nscoring.\"<\/p>\n
\"I'm very disappointed because I don't miss many cuts and it's
\nespecially frustrating to miss out over the course I'm attached
\nto.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Zaw Moe of Myanmar was disqualified for signing an
\nincorrect score card.<\/p>\n
Norman out<\/p>\n
Another golfing great, Greg Norman, also missed the cut for
\nthe first time in 22 years on Australian home soil after another
\ndisappointing performance on Friday, this time at the tournament
\nbearing his name.<\/p>\n
The former world number one crashed out of the Greg Norman
\nInternational at The Lakes in Sydney, an event he won last year,
\nafter adding a second round 76 to the 77 he shot on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Norman, who returned to competitive golf in November after six
\nmonths out recovering from shoulder surgery, said he was saddened
\nto see his record broken but insisted it was not the end of the
\nworld for him.<\/p>\n
\"So I miss a cut...I don't like doing it and I try to make a
\nlittle bit of fun out of it at the same time but I'm not going to
\nmake it sound like a major league disaster,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I think (Australian cricket legend) Sir Don Bradman made a
\nduck in his last innings to not average 100.\"<\/p>\n
The last time Norman missed a cut in Australia was at the 1976
\nChrysler Classic at Royal Melbourne when he was playing in just
\nhis sixth tournament as a professional.<\/p>\n
Norman's 36-hole total was a massive 19 shots behind halfway
\nleader, Australia's Anthony Painter, who shot a five-under-par 68
\nto follow his 66 from the first round.<\/p>\n
Leading scores<\/p>\n
Malaysian Open (USA unless stated):
\n 134 - Gerry Norquist 67-67
\n 139 - Dean Wilson 71-68, Ed Fryatt (Gbr) 70-69, Tomas Munoz (Esp)
\n68-71, Choi Kyung-ju (Kor) 68-71
\n 140 - Shaun Micheel 69-71
\n 141 - Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 77-64, Bob May 72-69, Marcello Santi
\n(Ita) 70-71, Anders Hansen (Den) 70-71, Christian Chernock
\n70-71, Craig Hainline 70-71, Andrew Coltart (Sco) 70-71,
\nWang Ter-chang (Tpe) 69-72, Frankie Minoza (Phi) 67-74,
\nChristian Pena 66-75, Zhang Lian-wei (Chn) 66-75
\n 142 - Gary Evans (Gbr) 75-67, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 75-67,
\nPierre Fulke (Swe) 73-69<\/p>\n
Greg Norman Int'l (Australian unless stated):
\n 134 - Anthony Painter 66-68
\n 136 - Bernhard Langer (Ger) 71-65
\n 139 - Michael Campbell 67-72
\n 140 - Peter O'Malley 70-70
\n 141 - Kaname Yokoo (Jpn) 71-70, Paul Gow 69-72, Peter Senior 67-74<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/westwood-out-norquist-leads-malaysian-open-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}