Kenneth De Silva rolled back the years when he shot a blistering six-under 66 to lead the field in the Corolla Cross Cup, the second event on the prestigious Toyota Tour at Glenmarie GCC’s Garden Course here today.
The 34-year-old carded seven birdies against a lone bogey to lead pre-tournament favourite Galven Green and Malcolm Ting by one stroke. In the mix were veterans Ben Leong and Nicholas Fung a further stroke behind at 4 under.
De Silva, whose first professional win was the ADT Sarawak Masters the same year he turned pro in 2012, was a little surprised with his game, looking at how little he had prepared for the tournament.
“I haven’t been playing much, but my putting helped,” said De Silva. Perhaps more telling was the fact that De Silva’s longest birdie putt today was from 13 feet, a testament to how accurate his approach shots were. He admitted he missed a few more putts but he wasn’t complaining, seeing that he hasn’t been in this position for quite some time.
The last time De Silva won on tour was the Kinrara Championship in 2015. He finished 14th on the Toyota Tour 2023 Order of Merit. The Toyota Tour is organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia and delivered by MST Golf.
Green was happy with his game tee to green and agreed that the course was there for the taking. “It’s in great shape and the greens are fast but not so firm due to the rains we’ve been getting. Looking forward to another low round tomorrow to put me in contention for Thursday.”
Green registered four birdies and eagled the par 5 11th hole. A bogey at the par 4 13th hole was the only blemish on his scorecard. Green, whose first professional win was the Alphard Cup in November 2023, notched his second Toyota Tour victory at the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy at Saujana GCC in February.
Fung was more than satisfied with his game considering he is undergoing therapy for a thumb injury. He was cruising along at 6 under until bogeys at the 16th and 17th stopped his advancement. Bunched together at joint sixth place were Sukree Othman, Paul San, Nor Heikal Hadi and Daeng Rahman at 3 under 69.
Meanwhile, Ainil Johani Bakar mixed three birdies against four bogeys to lead the Ladies Championship. Her score of one-over 73 gave her a one-stroke advantage over amateur Tan Ying Ying. Lying in joint third were Amalia Shahzan and Audrey Tan a further stroke behind while Qistina Balqis and Dianne Luke finished at five-over.
Leading Men’s Rd 1 Scores
66 Kenneth De Silva
67 Galven Green, Malcolm Ting
68 Nicholas Fung, Ben Leong
69 Daeng Rahman, Nor Heikal Hadi, Sukree Othman, Paul San
70 U-Minn Woon, R Nachimuthu
Ladies
73 Ainil Johani Bakar
74 Tan Ying Ying
75 Amalia Shahzan, Audrey Tan
77 Qistina Balqis, Dianne Luke
