Final event of season on Davidoff Tour
BY Bruce Young | Asian Tour | 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia | Preview | 04 Dec 2002
With the Davidoff Tour Order of Merit title for 2002 in the balance at this week’s Volvo Masters of Asia in Malaysia, the event carries even more interest than the initial staging of an event would normally command.
Three players are now still in with a chance to take out the title. Jyoti Rhandawa, whose recent form has included a 2nd placing in Taiwan and 8th last week in Hong Kong. He has not won this year but his consistency has been of the highest order especially when you consider that he broke his collarbone in March of this year. His year includes a fifth placing at the Dunhill Links event in Scotland highlighting his capacity to take his game to the next level. The thirty year old from New Delhi has won previously on the Davidoff Tour and has his chance this week to win for the first time in 2002 and take out the prestigious money list title. He currently has earnings of $US262,330 and is $US23.000 ahead of second place Thongchai Jaidee.
Thongchai Jaidee is currently in second place and the defending champion from 2001 in terms of the money list. He won the London Myanmar Open earlier this year but his year has been further highlighted by his 10th place at the Johnnie Walker in Australia after leading early, his second placing at the TCL Classic in China and his sixth place two weeks in Taiwan.
Arjun Atwal highlights the progress made in Indian golf in recent years. Never before has an Indian won the Order of Merit in Asia but there are now two in with a serious shot at it. He won earlier in the year at the Caltex Singapore Masters, which gave him a three year exemption on the European Tour due to the event being co-sanctioned by the European Tour. He took advantage of that but the higher level found him out somewhat, making only four of seventeen cuts in Europe since that win. He trails Ryoti by $58,000 so needs to win the $US90,000 first prize to win the title.
Seventy players will line up on Thursday with four Australians but no New Zealanders in the field. David Gleeson, the winner of the Volvo China Open, Brad Kennedy, Kim Felton and Adrain Percey are all looking to further consolidate their positions in Asia.
The event is being played at the Kota Permai course in the Klang Valley west of Kuala Lumpur, a course designed by Australian designer Ross Watson. It carries a purse of $US500,000.
