Westwood out, Norquist leads Malaysian Open
Westwood out, Norquist leads Malaysian Open
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): U.S. player Gerry Norquist fired a second successive 67 to lead the Malaysian Open by five shots on Friday as world number six Lee Westwood sensationally missed the cut.
England's Westwood joined fellow European favorite Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland in packing his bags after shooting four over, one too many to qualify for the final 36 holes.
Asian PGA tour regular Norquist, seeking a win that would give him a three year exemption on the European tour, headed a pack at five under which included fellow American Dean Wilson, defending champion Ed Fryatt of England, Spain's Tomas Munoz and Korea's Choi Kyung-ju.
Overnight leaders Chinese number one Zhang Lian-wei and American Christian Pena both shot 75 to fall back to three under.
Norquist, who won the Volvo Asian Matchplay at China's Mission Hills in December, said his stunning form was thanks to his golfing guru in the United States -- 67-year-old amateur Ron Di Zinno.
"He's had as much if not more influence on my success in golf as any one person," said Norquist, a native of Phoenix, Arizona and past winner of the Malaysian Open and three other Asian PGA tour events.
They spent four days together working on Norquist's game -- particularly putting -- before this week's championship at the 6,947 yard "Cobra" course at Saujana Golf and Country Club near Kuala Lumpur.
The three over cut after 36 holes spelled the end for Westwood and Clarke, two of the favorites at the US$750,000 event, the first championship to bring together the Asian and European tours.
Past winner Westwood shot a level par 72 to trail the leader by 14 shots, while Clarke ballooned to 79 to finish on 11 over.
Westwood blamed his eight week lay off, saying: "I've lost my scoring."
"I'm very disappointed because I don't miss many cuts and it's especially frustrating to miss out over the course I'm attached to."
Meanwhile, Zaw Moe of Myanmar was disqualified for signing an incorrect score card.
Norman out
Another golfing great, Greg Norman, also missed the cut for the first time in 22 years on Australian home soil after another disappointing performance on Friday, this time at the tournament bearing his name.
The former world number one crashed out of the Greg Norman International at The Lakes in Sydney, an event he won last year, after adding a second round 76 to the 77 he shot on Thursday.
Norman, who returned to competitive golf in November after six months out recovering from shoulder surgery, said he was saddened to see his record broken but insisted it was not the end of the world for him.
"So I miss a cut...I don't like doing it and I try to make a little bit of fun out of it at the same time but I'm not going to make it sound like a major league disaster," he said.
"I think (Australian cricket legend) Sir Don Bradman made a duck in his last innings to not average 100."
The last time Norman missed a cut in Australia was at the 1976 Chrysler Classic at Royal Melbourne when he was playing in just his sixth tournament as a professional.
Norman's 36-hole total was a massive 19 shots behind halfway leader, Australia's Anthony Painter, who shot a five-under-par 68 to follow his 66 from the first round.
Leading scores
Malaysian Open (USA unless stated): 134 - Gerry Norquist 67-67 139 - Dean Wilson 71-68, Ed Fryatt (Gbr) 70-69, Tomas Munoz (Esp) 68-71, Choi Kyung-ju (Kor) 68-71 140 - Shaun Micheel 69-71 141 - Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 77-64, Bob May 72-69, Marcello Santi (Ita) 70-71, Anders Hansen (Den) 70-71, Christian Chernock 70-71, Craig Hainline 70-71, Andrew Coltart (Sco) 70-71, Wang Ter-chang (Tpe) 69-72, Frankie Minoza (Phi) 67-74, Christian Pena 66-75, Zhang Lian-wei (Chn) 66-75 142 - Gary Evans (Gbr) 75-67, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 75-67, Pierre Fulke (Swe) 73-69
Greg Norman Int'l (Australian unless stated): 134 - Anthony Painter 66-68 136 - Bernhard Langer (Ger) 71-65 139 - Michael Campbell 67-72 140 - Peter O'Malley 70-70 141 - Kaname Yokoo (Jpn) 71-70, Paul Gow 69-72, Peter Senior 67-74