Aussie Fraser ties for first-round lead of humid Singapore Masters

Marcus Fraser of Australia holed two chips to tie for the lead in the sultry
Singapore Masters on Thursday. Singaporean Mardan Mamat shares the opening-round lead at seven under par 65.

I watched the stunningly listless broadcast on Thai satellite TV. By the ninth hole, many of the Europeans were rather unattractively bathed in sweat, a condition which afflicts every white golfer in Southeast Asia. With the problems these tournaments are having in attracting sponsors, maybe somebody should approach
Bristol-Myers Squibb, the makers of Ban Roll-On. Maybe that company would agree to support a European Tour event in which none of the stars from Europe deign to make an appearance.

Defending champion, England’s Nick Dougherty, carded an opening round 69, four shots behind Singaporean pro Mardan Mamat. The winner of last week’s Indonesia Open, Simon Dyson of England, stumbled slightly with a one over par 73.

The real anti-climax was supplied by Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, who fell apart with a 41 on the back nine for a 76. The Thai star, who needed a win here for any hope of an invitation to the Masters in Augusta, can forget about that now.

The first-round action attracted a very sparse gallery. I wonder how long this tour in Asia can be sustained.