CHIA IS MALAYSIA'S SOLE HOPE AT MALAYSIAN OPEN

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's professional golfer, Danny
Chia, emerged as the sole Malaysian golfer who made the cut-off mark Saturday
for the US$2.5 million (RM8 million) 2011 Maybank Malaysian Open golf
championship.

Chia, 39, completed his second round today with a one-over-par 73 for a
two-day total of an even-par 144 at the competition held at the Kuala Lumpur
Golf & Country Club in Bukit Kiara here.

"I was quite confident of playing well after yesterday's suspension of play
until I received a lot of phone calls at night with people telling me that I'm
the only Malaysian with a chance of making the cut.

"That got me thinking a lot and I couldn't get enough sleep last night. It
was a bit of mental game for me," he said.

Chia was tied in the 62nd spot with Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Charl
Schwartzel and Louis Ossthuizen of South Africa and 10 other players.

The organisers -- Malaysian Golf Association, Asian Tour and European Tour
-- have set the cut-off mark at 144 which will see 75 golfers resuming their
challenge in the third round later today.

Meanwhile 15 others local professionals and six amateurs failed to advance
beyond the second round.

After A. Sasar retired from the competition yesterday, season campaigner, R.
Nachimuthu also retired from the competition today.

Seventy-seven players who did not complete the second round following a
thunder storm which stopped the play for more than two hours Friday afternoon,
resumed their remaining holes this morning at 7.40am.

The competition however, was suspended again at 9.43am due to lightning and
heavy rain.