Mamat, Gibson on track to qualify for Open
IN: News | Asian | British Open International Final Qualifying - Asia (2005) | Round One | 06 Apr 2005
The road to St Andrews for the British Open could be a straight forward one for Asian stalwarts Mardan Mamat of Singapore, Canadian Rick Gibson and Danny Chia of Malaysia.
Mamat and Manila-based Gibson jumped on route 66 with matching first rounds at the International Final Qualifying ˆ Asia at Saujana Golf and Country Club to set the early pace with local favourite Chia in close pursuit after an impressive 67.
The trio are well positioned to claim the three spots available for the British Open, with Chia poised to become the first Malaysian to qualify for the world's oldest Major.
Mamat, who featured in the Open at Royal Troon in 1997, did not have any expectations coming into the two-day qualifiers as he was troubled by a stomach bug last week and is not a fan of Saujana's treacherous Palm Course.
But he mastered the layout, shooting birdies on the seventh, eighth, 10th, 13th, 16th and 18th holes with no blemish on the card. "The key was my tempo. I took it one shot at a time and knew well that I had to post a low number to have any chance of qualifying for the Open. On this course you never know what to expect as it can make your game go haywire," said Mamat, who will make his debut for Asia in the Visa Dynasty Cup showdown against a Shigeki Maruyama-led Japan in China next week.
With his yoga master from India on site, Mamat said that a pep talk before his round helped him to his good start. "But I'm not going to tell you what he said. It's a secret!" said Mamat, the reigning Indian Open champion.
Canadian Gibson, who picked out an old driver for the opening round, was solid from off the tee. His highlight of the round came at the difficult par four eighth when he drained a 45-footer for birdie. He has played in one British Open previously in 1991 at Royal Birkdale and is hoping to earn a trip to St Andrews in July, even if it means having to re-route a family holiday.
"I played really solid all day and had a good start with birdies on one and three," said Gibson, who has played in Asia for more than a decade. "This is my best round at Saujana and it felt a lot more relaxing playing here this week without the signages that we are used to for the Malaysian Open (which is played at Saujana)."
The 43-year-old Gibson has fond memories of St Andrews as he was part of the Canadian Team that won the Dunhill Cup on the Old Course in 1994. "I'd love to have another shot at St Andrews. The last time I played there was in 1996. I've already planned a trip back to Canada with the family during summer but I'm sure they wouldn't mind changing it to Scotland."
The 32-year-Chia, a former Taiwan Open winner, fired six birdies against a lone bogey and is well within reach of earning his Major debut. "I'm sure I'll be a bit more excited tomorrow," Chia conceded. "I didn't drive the ball well but my misses were not far off the mark. I'm feeling good about my game and I'm enjoying playing golf these days. I'll try to stick to the same game plan," added Chia, who enjoyed a chip-in birdie on the 11th.
Chinese Taipei's Yeh Wei-tze, whose only British Open appearance came at the 2000 edition at St Andrews, got into the mix with six birdies against two bogeys. Now a regular on the Japan Tour, Yeh believes a six-under-par two-day total could earn him a ticket to the Old Course.
"I'd love to go back there after missing the cut in 2000 by three strokes. It's such a famous venue but I'll have to shoot a couple under tomorrow to have a chance," said Yeh, who won a European Tour-sanctioned event in 2000.
There were frustrations for the Indian contingent. Former Asian number one Jyoti Randhawa, who finished second in February's Carlsberg Malaysian Open at Saujana, stumbled to a 74 after three-putting on four greens while compatriot Amandeep Johl signed for a 73 but was kicking himself as he was three-under-par through 12 holes.
Jeev Milkha Singh, who lost out in a play-off for a spot last year, is within striking range after returning a 71. Rahil Gangjee shot a 73.
"I just gave away shots coming in," said Johl, who has been trying to qualify for the British Open every year since 1997. "The way I was hitting the ball, I could have posted a low round. Trying to qualify for the British Open seems like a tough thing for me," said Johl, who will also make his debut in the Visa Dynasty Cup next week.
Source - Asian Tour
