Courtesy Asian Tour media:

Australian Andrew Dodt took advantage of a hot start to sign for an opening nine-under par 63 and grab the clubhouse lead by two shots at the weather-disrupted Bandar Malaysia Open on the Asian Tour on Thursday.

After two opening birdies, the 34-year-old Dodt added a birdie on the sixth and an eagle three on the seventh to turn in 31. He nailed four more birdies on his way home to take his place atop the leaderboard just before play got suspended at 5.55pm local time due to lightning threats.

Dodt, who endured two missed cuts in his first three starts this season, was thrilled to regain his fine form in Malaysia, where he had sensationally claimed his third Asian Tour victory in Sarawak last August following a two-month injury layoff.

“I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and holed a lot of putts," the Australian said. "This is, overall, what I have been trying to do every day, so felt comfortable and easy and today’s round is just another step in the right direction for me. “I birdied the first two holes and that kind of kicked off the round for me. My game is in a good shape...This course demands accuracy off the tees, so if you are not on the fairways, you are going to struggle getting on the greens. “I have not played as well as I can the last two weeks but now I can. I just want to keep it simple and have a bit of fun."

Reigning Asian development tour order of merit champion Naoki Sekito of Japan closed with three consecutive birdies to sit in second place at the US$1 million event, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

A total of 51 players will resume their opening rounds at 7.40am on Friday with the second round slated to start at 7.50am.

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