Atwal shows good form, lies 5th in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur: Arjun Atwal continued his fine form with seven birdies against two bogeys for a fine five-under 65 that gave him a share of the fifth place in the weather-disrupted US$3 million Maybank Championship on Thursday.

Atwal's 67 was matched by five others, as England's Chris Paisley seized the clubhouse lead with 7-under 65. India's Arjun Atwal, who is aiming for a third victory in Malaysia, but his first Asian Tour win since 2014, opened on the back nine and had three birdies against one bogey on the back stretch of the Saujana Golf and Country Club. He then fired more birdies one bogey in his card. Among the other Indians, Gaganjeet Bhullar (66) was T-10 and SSP Chawrasia (69) was T-26. Khalin Joshi and Jyoti Randhawa were also at 3-under, but were yet to finish their opening round and Shubhankar Sharma and Shiv Kapur (70 each) were T-51 and Rashid Khan (72) was T-72. Ajeetesh Sandhu (74) and Chiragh Kumar (75) were further down, while Rahil Gangjee at one-under and S Chikkarangappa at 1-over were yet to finish their rounds. Atwal said: "It was hot, very hot. I don't remember the last time being this hot. I'm pleased, it was a solid start to round one. Everything was pretty okay, I can't pinpoint which part of my game was better. Everything was solid, I hit a lot of fairways and greens. I hit it close a few times and made some putts so it was good. It has been a while since I won in Malaysia (2003 and 2008) but I always love coming back here. It has been fun."