1988

It took American Tray Tyner all of 288 strokes - playing to par - to come to terms with ''the Cobra'' to claim the 1988 Malaysian Open title. In all its past history, there was never a layout that challenging or greens that mind-bogglingly difficult to fathom. The Malaysian Open at last had its first taste of a venue meeting international standards and flavour - the Palm Course of Saujana Golf & Country Club.

"The hardest and most demanding golf course I''ve ever seen or played," said Tyner soon after his victory. "I think the best thing about the course is that each hole is different in character. In addition to being the hardest, it''s also kept in great condition. It was a real treat to play such a course."

1997

After major renovation works in 1995, the Malaysian Open returned to the Cobra in 1997 where a 23-year-old rookie from England made his mark and soared to international stardom winning the title with a 14-under 274 total and battering the Cobra''s reputation. Lee Westwood''s opening 8-under 64 created a course record which still stands today. In the field were Retief Goosen, Darren Clarke and Stephen Leaney.

For the first time the Palm Course 13th hole was played as a par 4 at 480 yards from the white tee while hole 14 was lengthened to 520 yards and played as a par 5. Playing uphill to an elevated and blind green, few would have any thoughts that history would be made there on the 3rd day of the tournament. All three players in the final flight - Westwood, Harumitsu Hamano and Larry Barber - made eagles.

Following his triumph, Westwood was signed up as Saujana''s touring professional and by the Malaysian Tourism Board to promote golf in Malaysia.

1998

Less than 72 hours before the Open event was to start, disaster struck at the scheduled venue - Kelab Golf Negara Subang - where some of its greens were badly damaged. Saujana was given the almost impossible task to prepare the Cobra to tournament conditions amidst the frantic reconstruction works and logistical nightmares. The final results drew awe and applause from the promoters as well as the public.

Both defending champion Lee Westwood and fellow Briton Ed Fryatt posted 10-under 278 to take the match into extra holes. In the playoff, both parred the 10th hole and at the second playoff hole at the 18th, Westwood''s 2nd shot lodged into a palm tree and Fryatt went on to par the hole and win the crown.

1999

The Cobra again played host to the Open which was jointly sanctioned by the Asian PGA Tour as well as the PGA European Tour. Fryatt and Westwood had managed to post double digit under par scores the previous year with Fryatt winning in a playoff that had shaken the Cobra''s reputation somewhat. Would that feat be repeated?

No. This time around, the Cobra lived up to its expectations and took no prisoners.

An 8-under 280 (67-67-75-71) performance by American Gerry Norquist was sufficient to claim the trophy with Norquist beating Alex Cejka of Germany by 3 strokes in the US$750,000 tournament.

2001

A star-studded cast and an increased purse of US$910,000 produced the ''best ever'' Malaysian Open with Vijay Singh besting Padraig Harrington in a climatic playoff over three holes and Vijay emerging victor.

Top billing with Vijay were ''Long'' John Daly, Michael Campbell and a line-up of top current stars. Even Seve Ballesteros made the scene.

The weather however was at its most dreadful. Incessant thunder, lightning and rain drenched the event over the four days of play and created untold problems for the organizers. In the end, it was Vijay and Harrington who survived Mother Nature''s onslaught and the Cobra''s venom, each with an incredible 14-under 274 total, resulting in the playoff.

2004

With the Cobra''s fearsome reputation at stake, the set-up was made even more challenging. Tight fairways and 4-inch roughs made accuracy a must and with the tricky and slick greens cut to 10 on the stimpmeter, there would be a lot of raised eyebrows on the players'' faces.

Once again, the Cobra surrendered to another 14-under bashing; this time to Thailand''s Thongchai Jaidee who played rounds of 71, 71, 64 and 68 to take the title.

This time around, the par 5 7th hole claimed the most victims with final day leader Korean Lee Sung-Man pulling his drive into OB and ended with a double bogey. Korea''s Charlie Wi had two OB drives at the same hole and Scotland''s Andrew Coltart made three successive OBs.

2005

A magnificent display of top level golf by defending champion Thongchai Jaidee who shot a record equaling 64 at the opening round finally bashed the fearsome reputation of the Cobra. On the second day of play, Sweden''s Henrik Stenson and Denmark''s Thomas Bjorn also posted that magic number of 64. The 8-under scores by the three players however did not stand as they were scored under preferred lies play and Westwood''s record remained intact.

Jaidee went on to finish the job of defending his crown with rounds of 64, 66, 67 and 70 for a record 21-under 267.

2007

The Cobra was again prepared to immaculate conditions with narrow fairways and even heavier roughs making for a severe test of golf. In the 150-player field were six former champions: Jaidee, Westwood, Alistair Forsyth, Yeh Wei-Tze, Rick Gibson and Clay Devers. This time around, three Malaysians out of 14 pros and 3 amateurs made the cut set at 2-over 146: Airil Rizman, Shaifubari Muda and rookie S Sivachandran. The purse was now US$1.29m.

Sweden''s Peter Heblom was the surprised winner at 8-under 280 and he summed it up best with his remark: "When you''ve not won for that long, you question whether you can win again…" He had been winless for the past 11 years - since the Morrocan Open 1996.

Heblom beat Frenchman Jean-Francois Lucquin in a thrilling finish winning by a shot after Lucquin three-putted the final hole.

2009

This year, the Cobra will be just as defiant. The 21-under scored by Thongchai Jaidee in 2005 was played under preferred lies condition where the players were allowed to clean and place their balls on the closely mown areas. Lets hope that the capricious weather will be partial this time and give the Cobra and the players an equal opportunity to display their worth.