Danny Willett was delighted with the way he handled the heat and humidity as he opened the Maybank Championship with a 66 at Saujana Golf and Country Club.
South east Asia is known for its testing conditions for those that are not acclimatised but Willett has had little trouble in the past, registering three top tens in the Maybank Malaysian Open.
The Masters Tournament champion was bogey-free in getting to six under on Thursday and he credited caddie Jonathan Smart with helping him handle the test of climate.
"It was good, it's always nice to get out early when you're in Malaysia," he said. "It was still roasting hot this morning but the wind stays calm for the first hour or so and allows you to get some shots in there nice and close. The wind picked up a bit towards the end and it plays a little trickier around here.
"When it's this hot and the wind is swirling, if you can make it as stress-free as possible it's a little bit easier. You get frustrated out here and it becomes a long old day.
"Every time you come here, it's not a week to get frustrated with anything if you can help it. Every single little bit of energy you've got needs to go in to trying to hit the right shot so you've got to talk through things well and get a picture in your head.
"Jonny has been around a few years now and he knows what he's doing so when it's these conditions, me and him work really well.
"I sweat a lot when it's cold so this brings everyone to my level sweating-wise. It's better being this way round than being cold because it helps the back, it helps the body to move a little bit better."
When it's this hot and the wind is swirling, if you can make it as stress-free as possible it's a little bit easier - Danny Willett
Willett made birdies on the tenth, 11th, 18th, first, fourth and seventh and believes accuracy off the tee will be vital if he is to continue to play well.
"Around a golf course like this you need to be in the fairways to be able to get close to these flags and I rolled in a couple of putts," he said. "It was relatively stress free for six under which is always nice.
"You can play it really aggressive off the tee or you can play it a little bit more conservative. I took a little bit of middle ground there, hit three wood a good bit off the tee and when I fancied it and the wind picked up a little bit I hit a couple of drivers and got them in play a little bit further down.
"We're just trying to get the confidence levels up to where they have been and start hitting some good golf shots again. Today was nice because we took what we've been working on to the golf course and played some good stuff."
