Malaysian Open: Lee Westwood confident ahead of big weekend

Lee Westwood is looking forward to the weekend at the Maybank Malaysian Open as he bids to successfully defend his title.

Westwood is tied with Alejandro Canizares for the halfway lead at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club after a second-round 67, the pair having gone three strokes clear of the rest of the field.

"I played nicely again," Westwood told the European Tour website. "It was pretty solid again and I probably only hit one poor shot all day, from the middle of the fairway on the fifth hole - I was going in with a five iron and blocked it right into the water.

"Other than that it was very good and I felt very comfortable out there.

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"I hit a lot of fairways and some good iron shots and made some nice putts. It was great to birdie two of the last three and go from one in front to three in front."

That three-shot lead was eventually cancelled out by Canizares, who won in Morocco last season to end an eight-year European Tour drought.

And the Spaniard is hopeful his solid play - he also had top-12 finishes in Abu Dhabi and Qatar - will continue over the weekend after he closed with three birdies in his last four holes.

"It was a lot of fun and I played really well," Canizares said. "I wasn't so good off the tee today, but I putted really well.

"I made some great up-and-downs when I missed a shot, and I'm very happy overall. I can't wait for the weekend - it will be a lot of fun.

"It's a great position to be in and I couldn't ask for any better; hopefully I can keep it going."

Watch the third round of the Malaysian Open from 3am on Sky Sports 4 on Saturday.