OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP RELATED STORIES Rd 1: Battling Lam makes top 15 with fine 72 Rd 1: Choi crafts brave 72 in worst of weather Rd 1: Liang faces uphill task after opening 77 Rd 1: 17th hole birdie keeps Chia's chances alive Rd 1: Prayad struggles with wind and cold for 77 Rd 2: Choi takes lead with two closing birdies Rd 2: Liang makes first major cut with fighting 71 Rd 2: Lam makes cut and Singapore golf history Rd 2: Late bogies mean early exit for Prayad Rd 3: Choi joint 2nd as Norman storms 2 ahead Rd 3: Liang fires worthy 77 as scores soar Rd 3: Lam is blown away by Birkdale winds Rd 4: Choi heartbroken as Harrington defends Rd 4: Closing 74 gives Liang more major hopes Rd 4: Tough Open makes Lam eye Asian success Rd 4: Angelo Que means to learn and return Final scores The 2008 Open Championship home page Guide to the Royal Birkdale Course Four Australians qualify for The Open 67 Sentosa hopefuls aim for four Open berths Randhawa going for fourth Open outing Chia, Que and Ali lead Open berth battle Chia, Blyth, Lam and Que headed for Birkdale Dyson qualifies for Open - Rodgers, Brown and Jeev miss out Liang to make golfing history at Birkdale Prayad out to erase Masters misery at Birkdale Que looks to ride his winning wave Lam takes a second shot at Open Liang back in the swing and ready to shine Confident Prayad ready to face Birkdale breezes Lam aiming at top 25 - and having fun Chia out for Malaysian first at his second Open Que hoping to become a familiar face ASIAN GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Bae clinches home win Tanihara takes Panasonic title Su Dong's lead cut to two Hole-in-One Jeev shares the lead Korea, Philippines, Italy for World Cup Lu wins record 4th Taiwan Masters Aussie PGA rethinks 'One Asia' GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Seve has a brain tumor Schwartzel wins by three Jay Haas on brink of another senior money title Justin Leonard looking to break Texas Open record Father & Son event sign up with Sky Sports

17th hole birdie keeps Chia's chances alive

Danny Chia celebrated a lone birdie on a tough opening day to give himself a glimmer of hope at becoming the first Malaysian to play in all four rounds at the British Open.

Chia battled to a six-over-par 76 on Thursday at a brutal Royal Birkdale which showed its teeth with lashing rain and gale winds that sent scores soaring in the year’s third major.

He knows that his birdie on the 17th hole was the lifeline that he needed to keep his campaign alive.

“It was playing tough out there and it got really cold,” said Chia, whose score bettered those of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

“I hit a few good shots but misjudged the winds on some occasions. I was in six bunkers today but managed to get up and down in four holes for pars. Overall, I’m still happy with my performance. I just have to read the winds better as it was like a guessing game,” said Chia.

“The whole day, I was trying my guts out. I know the cut will be high but while it looks like I was making mistakes, I tried my hardest. On some of the holes, I was aiming 30 yards right of the pin and it still wasn’t enough.”

Chia turned in two over with bogeys on the second and eighth holes but started dropping shots after making the turn. Another bogey on 10 and a double bogey on 12 when he sent a five iron into the thick hay made it look impossible for the Malaysian but he hung on courageously.

He knew that he needed to pull off a birdie down the stretch and did it the hard way. After finding the pot bunker on the par five 17th hole, Chia could only splash back out to the fairway with his second shot but he flushed a six iron third shot from 220 yards out to six feet for the crucial birdie.

“It was good to birdie 17. I was asking myself if I was going to be birdie-less and I made it,” said Chia.

“The double bogey on 12, I was trying to hit a low shot but made a bad swing with a five iron. I got into a bad lie and took a full swing at the ball which moved only one foot.

“There is still a lot to play for and I will treat every shot with great importance on Friday. This is a great test, and it is so different from St Andrews when I played in 2005. I guess this is what links golf is about and it’s a chance to test myself to the limit,” said Chia.

July 17, 2008