KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Reuters) – U.S. Masters runner-up
Louis Oosthuizen had his second round charge at the Malaysian
Open lead halted on Friday when thunderstorms and heavy rain
ended play early at the European and Asian Tour event.
Oosthuizen was two-under-par after 12 holes of his round at
the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club for a eight-under total.
The South African trails compatriots Hennie Otto and Jbe
Kruger by one shot after they fired an eight-under-par 64 and
seven-under 65 respectively before the weather turned.
Oosthuizen is looking for a fifth win on the European Tour,
a triumph that would go a long way to help him overcome the
heartbreak of missing out in a playoff at Augusta to American
Bubba Watson on Sunday.
After a 30-hour journey to take part in the $2.5 million
tournament in the Malaysian capital, he followed up his opening
round 66 with 10 pars and two birdies on the narrow layout.
The 2010 British Open champion will be one of 75 players who
will return early on Saturday to complete their second round.
Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Kruger credited his putting
after following up his opening round 70 with a 65 for a share of
the lead in the South African-heavy leaderboard.
“I think all of us (South Africans) are coming into this
tournament with a little bit of form coming back,” Kruger said.
“My game is a little bit better. I’ve been working on a lot
of things and it seems to be coming together which is always a
good sign.”
Continued…
