Field of champions set for Volvo Masters of Asia

BY iseekgolf.com | Asian Tour | 2004 Volvo Masters of Asia | Preview | 08 Dec 2004

The Volvo Masters of Asia, the season-ending event on the Asian Tour, will parade a star-studded cast with all the top-10 players on the Order of Merit, 13 of this season’s winners and five former Asian number ones slated to tee up at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The US$550,000 Volvo Masters of Asia boasts one of the strongest fields yet on this season’s Asian Tour, with Thai star Thongchai Jaidee poised to face a stern challenge in his title defence. Last year, Thongchai won the Volvo-sponsored event on home soil and the former paratrooper will be looking to complete a unique double as he had won the Carlsberg Malaysia Open here in February.

The season climax will be a championship within a championship as Thongchai is also battling for the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown against in-form Scotsman Simon Yates. They are the only two players in the running for the merit title.

The Volvo Masters of Asia, the forerunner to the Volvo Masters of Malaysia, is exclusive to the top-60 players on the Order of Merit and will include two amateurs each from Malaysia and Thailand.

Volvo Event Management President and CEO Mel Pyatt said: "I am absolutely delighted with the quality of this week’s field. I’m looking forward to the week as it is exclusive only the top-60 players from the Asian Tour and it mirrors what we do with the Volvo Masters in Spain on the European Tour.

“I would like thank Kota Permai as they have made tremendous efforts for this year’s Volvo Masters of Asia. They have done a great job in getting all the greens in order and for the first time, I believe we’ll get the green speed up to 10 on the stimpmeter and it’ll be very exciting.”

While all of Asia’s top guns will aim for this week’s top prize of US$99,000, Pyatt was saddened that Chinese ace Zhang Lian-wei, who is taking a break after competing in 11 straight events, was not able to make the trip. However, the upcoming Liang Wen-chong will fly the flag for China this week after brilliantly playing his way into the Volvo Masters of Asia with two top-20 finishes at the recent Volvo China Open and Omega Hong Kong Open.

“Liang has done very well in Japan this year and he did a great job over the last two weeks to qualify for the Volvo Masters of Asia. He’ll be the future of golf for China,” said Pyatt.

The continued rise of Asian golf has seen a new generation of upcoming stars emerging and the likes of India’s Rahil Gangjee and Angelo Que of the Philippines are all poised to challenge for honours.

Gangjee, who grew up as a horserider, broke through in the Masters China in Beijing in May against a field that included six-time Major winner Nick Faldo, former Ryder Cup stars Ian Woosnam and Philip Price while Que was the recent winner of the inaugural Carlsberg Masters Vietnam where he upset Thongchai in a thrilling head-to-head duel.

With a two-year exemption safely tucked in hand, both youngsters are looking to end their season on a high note. Que, who turns 26 on New Year’s day, said: "Before my win, I would go into an event thinking of how to make the cut, how to keep the ball in play or how to make birdies. The difference now is that I’m not thinking of anything, I just want to play and have fun.

“Getting the two year exemption helps a lot as it’s a big load off for me. I was expecting to go through Qualifying School next year and all of the sudden, I can play the big events in Asia for another two years. It really helps me think better on the golf course, I just think about how to play instead of how to make the cut,” said Que.

The 26-year-old Gangjee is hoping to turn in a good performance after missing his last two cuts. “I’ve not played well over the past few weeks. I need to work on my mental aspect of my game. I need to just enjoy my golf and even forget about the mechanics. I’ve done a bit of thinking and I’m going to try and be more relaxed and let my mind be at ease. I think I’ve tried too hard in recent months and that might have hindered my progress. I’m going to play it one shot at a time this week.”

The top-10 players from the Order of Merit in this week’s Volvo Masters of Asia are Thongchai, Yates, India’s Jyoti Randhawa, Thai trio Thaworn Wiratchant, Boonchu Ruangkit and Prayad Marksaeng, Australian Terry Pilkadaris, England’s Simon Dyson, American Greg Hanrahan and Korea’s Charlie Wi, who will arrive in KL on the back of a successful campaign in the US PGA Tour Qualifying School Finals where he earned his card for 2005.

The former Asian numbers ones who will lend their star appeal are Thongchai, Randhawa, Dyson, Korea’s Kang Wook-soon and Myanmar’s Kyi Hla Han. Other prominent winners from the Asian Tour in the field include Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, Thailand’s Thammanoon Srirot and American trio Edward Loar, Jason Knutzon and Edward Michaels.

Source – Asian Tour