Padraig Harrington has made the cut at the Maybank Championship but remains out of contention after a disappointing second today.
Three bogeys in succession were the lowlight of the Dubliner’s round on the back nine and the one-over par round of 73 leaves the upcoming European Ryder Cup captain on one-under par, seven behind leader Thomas Pieters.
Daniel James Masrin of Indonesia is in a tie for second place with Nacho Elvira, who at one stage was on 10-under but dropped three shots on his back nine.
Pieters, who won the World Cup of Golf with Belgium team-mate Thomas Detry late last year, saw room for improvement following a tricky afternoon in Kuala Lumpur.
He told the European Tour's website: "I struggled off the tee early on - at the end it was a lot better.
"It didn't feel like a good day to me, I made the best of what I had. I gave myself a lot of chances but I couldn't seem to get the ball in the hole."
Four-time major champion Ernie Els was among the large group on six-under, while Oliver Fisher led the British charge on four-under.
