Lascuña joint 6th in Malaysian Open

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Lascuña held his ground against some of the world’s leading players as he fired a five-under 67 to gain a share of sixth, three shots behind former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of the rich Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia yesterday.

Lascuña, out to end a long title drought, took advantage of an early tee off and blazed the backside with four birdies against a bogey then sustained his charge at the front with a 34 for that 67 as he outplayed flightmates Peter Lawrie (73) of Ireland and Swede Johan Edfors (75).

He birdied two of the last three holes in impressive fashion to finish the round with just 23 putts, putting himself in the mix of top guns, headed by Schwartzel, who went flawless coming home at the front with a 31 for a 64.

Schwartzel opened a one-shot lead over India’s former Asian Tour No. 1 Jeev Milkha Singh, who turned in a solid 65, while Louis Oosthuizen, the former British Open champion who finished runner-up to Bubba Watson in last week’s Masters, shot a 66 to tie American Jason Knutzon and Jyoti Randhawa at third.

Other 67 scorers were Rafael Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Stephen Gallacher.

Paired with former Asian Tour No. 1 Thongchai Jaidee in the featured flight, Schwartzel and Oosthuizen slugged it out in an early shootout betweeb fellow South African aces with both finishing with 33s at the back. But Schwartzel pounced on a two-shot swing on No. 1, which he birdied and which Oosthuizen bogeyed, then stormed ahead with three straight birdies from No. 3 before capping his brilliance with another birdie on No. 7.

Oosthuizen actually matched Schwartzel’s three-birdie binge but dropped a shot on No. 6 before hitting a birdie on the next for a 33.

Jaidee limped with a 73, the same output put in by Angelo Que.