Anthony Kim was able to breathe a sigh of relief today after doing just enough to survive the cut at the Maybank Malaysian Open.
The world No 11 is the highest-ranked player in the field at Saujana Golf & Country Club but was in serious danger of missing out on weekend play after signing for a six-over-par 78 in the opening round.
But the American, 23, recovered to card a seven-under 65 this morning which helped him to improve to one under for the tournament.
Although he had to wait several hours before discovering that his score was right on the cut line, Kim was satisfied with what that he had done in the second round.
"I was pretty embarrassed with how I scored yesterday, not making a birdie and not finding my rhythm out there," he said.
"It was important for me and my confidence to come out and play a good round whether or not I made the cut."
The key to Kim's improvement was in his reading of Saujana's slow and grainy greens.
He said: "I just tried to hit it five feet by the hole and it was perfect speed every time. So I started thinking that I needed to hit it four or five feet past the hole and if I can keep putting like this, I'll be fine.
"I needed to make birdies today as the field is not coming back. I played some good golf and fortunately on the back nine some of the putts went in.
"The 78 was probably the worst round I've played in a couple of years. It wasn't due to playing poorly but just scoring terrible.
"I wasn't too worried about my game, I felt like I was driving the ball good and giving myself 10, 12-footers. You've got to make those putts sooner or later."
Having safely negotiated the opening two rounds, Kim expects to go on the attack during the weekend.
"I don't think that I've ever been cautious but I'm here to compete as best as I can," he said.
"I'm going to attack the flags, hit as many drivers as I can as there are some holes where you can hit driver on. The course sets up well for me if I can hit the driver well.
"Nothing is impossible here but you better have some down-grain putts. It's about getting the ball there."
*PA Sport
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
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