Veterans out to rule Double A International Open

The old guards on the Asian Tour are looking to duplicate success when they tee up in the US$300,000 Double A International Open at St Andrews Hill (2000) Golf Club on Thursday.

This season has witnessed the resurgence of veterans Wang Ter-chang and Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei, who both ended lengthy winless runs while several other seasoned campaigners including Kyi Hla Han of Myanmar, the 1999 Asian number one, and Canadian Rick Gibson are looking to regain their winning touch.

The quartet are amongst the elite entries for Thailand's newest professional golf tournament on the rapidly-growing Asian Tour, which will stage a record 27 tournaments this season with over US$20 million in total prize money.

Thai stars Thaworn Wiratchant, currently leading the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and last season's number one Thongchai Jaidee will lead the local assault.

The 42-year-old Lu will be brimming with confidence knowing that his last trip to Thailand ended in glorious fashion. He pipped Thailand's Thammanoon Srirot in a play-off to win the Bangkok Airways Open earlier this month and will be looking for a repeat.

"The competition is very difficult on Tour these days, so it is good to win again," said Lu, whose last success was the 1998 Ericsson Classic on home soil.

His victory wasn't a flash in the pan as Lu had shown signs of ending his title drought. Before his win, he had posted four top-10s in his last six outings, which included a tied 11th finish as well.

Lu, currently ranked eighth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, said that his form has been good this season. "It's clicked somehow but I've been very patient on the golf course," he said.

Compatriot Wang is also enjoying a rich vein of form. He ended his six-year run without a title by lifting the Macau Open in May and earlier this month qualified for his second successive World Cup with Chang Tse-peng.

Wang, who is one year older than Lu, said: ""At my age, it feels great to win again. It's not often that golfers can win when they are 42."

Myanmar's Han will be looking to regain his form after an injury-plague season. Suffering from a "tennis elbow" for most of the year, the Singapore-based Han is hoping that a recent sponsorship tie-up with Double A will provide the spark for him to contend at the inaugural Double A International Open.

With the season coming to a close, the Double A International Open is the 23rd leg of this season's Asian Tour, the 44-year-old Han knows he must start producing the right results to keep his full playing rights next season.

Gibson, also 44, has produced a second and a third on the Asian Tour this year and cannot be discounted to mount a challenge at St Andrews Hill this week The Manila-based Gibson is presently ranked 24th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with his last win being the 2002 Philippine Open

October 31, 2005

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