Bhullar lies third with 66; Shubhankar 11th in Malaysia

Young Shubhankar Sharma happily soaked in all the experience while Gaganjeet Bhullar reaped benefits of the patience he showed in 2014-2015 as both started well at the USD three million Maybank Malaysian Championships at Saujana on Thursday.

Bhullar (66) with seven birdies against one bogey, was tied third, three shots behind error-free Marc Warren, who interestingly also went through a barren stretch in 2015-2016.

The 20-year-old Shubhankar, who had four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys was Tied-10th at four-under 68.

Warren had five birdies and an eagle, while 17-year-old Phachara Khongwatmai (65), sole second, had eight birdies against one bogey. Six players including Masters champion Danny Willett, and Bhullar were tied for third at 66 each.

Anirban Lahiri admitted to a bad decision on the club at the 17th, where his tee shot with a 5-Wood saw the ball bouncing off the cart path and go out of bounds for a double as he finished at 69 to be Tied-17th, after five-under through 16. "It was not a bad swing, it was a wrong club," he said.

Arjun Atwal, twice winner in Malaysia, Chiragh Kumar and Shiv Kapur opened with modest 70 each to be Tied-30th on a day when the morning wave produced the better scores and wind picked up in the afternoon.

Jeev Milkha Singh (71) at T-52nd and SSP Chawrasia and Rashid Khan (72 each) at T-67th will walk the tight rope before the cut, while Jyoti Randhawa (73), S Chikkarangappa (74), Rahil Gangjee (75) and Mukesh Kumar (77) will need low numbers to stay on for the weekend.

Bhullar's form in 2014 and 2015 suffered on account of injuries but he seems to have turned the corner since the second half of last year, when he won twice. The confidence is beginning to show.

Bhullar, who is now spending a lot of time in California, said, "Things have changed for the better since second half of 2016. A big call in 2015 after being injured in 2014 was I would play events but not put pressure during practice and let it heal. That paid off with good results."

He added, "Today I hit the ball really well and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities. I hit 15 greens in regulation and had some really close birdies. I drove well, but missed some shots in the middle of the round. Just the first day and I'm feeling positive for the week."

Shubhankar made no bones about how much he was enjoying the experience of playing four weeks in a row or with experienced guys. The 20-year-old is loving the 'attention' and advice he gets as the baby of the 13-strong Indian contingent here in Malaysia.

Shubhankar said, "We're all like a family. It's great to talk like Jeev, Arjun, Jyoti, Shiv, Rahil and others. They are easy to approach and forthcoming. They have good advice to give as they've been playing for a long time. What they keep saying is that if you have to play for a very long time, there is no point in taking too much pressure. Once you get comfortable on Tour, it becomes easier."