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37 head to Sentosa in search of Open berth

A strong line-up of 37 players, including Andrew Buckle – the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit leader, will make their way to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore next week and bid for four tickets to The Open Championship in July.

The Open Championship International Final Qualifying – Asia will feature the cream of the crop from the region from April 6-7, including Singapore's home hero Mardan Mamat, Indian ace Amandeep Johl, compatriot Shiv Kapur, last season’s Volvo Masters of Asia champion and promising Thai duo Prom Meesawat and Chapchai Nirat.

The top four players after 36 holes will book their places in The Open scheduled at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England from July 20-23.

All eyes will be on Mamat, who is performing on home soil for the first time since his historic achievement earlier this month when he became the first Singaporean winner on the European Tour by lifting the OSIM Singapore Masters.

He will be shooting for a third appearance in the world's oldest major, having played at Royal Troon in 1997 and St Andrews last year.

In the qualifier in Malaysia in 2005, the Singapore ace topped the two-day test and was joined at St Andrews by Malaysia's Danny Chia and Australian Richard Moir, who are both slated to compete in Sentosa.

Johl and Kapur will be bidding for their first appearance in The Open and hopes to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Gaurev Ghei, Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal who have featured in the world's oldest major in recent years.

The 24-year-old Kapur, who claimed his maiden Asian Tour title at the Volvo Masters of Asia last December, will also bid for a place at Royal Liverpool. Kapur, ranked eighth on the UBS Order of Merit and last season’s Rookie of the Year, has produced some solid performances this season and is expected to be amongst the front runners at Sentosa's Serapong course, which is the home of the Singapore Open – Asia's richest national Championship.

Thailand’s Chapchai has also chalked up some impressive finishes recently and is also tipped to come out strongly. He was in the top 20 at the Maybank Malaysian Open and improved with a top five at the Singapore Masters. Chapchai, 22, currently holds 18th position on the UBS Order of Merit

Prom, another one of Thailand’s rising stars, is slowly stamping his mark on the Asian Tour with consistent top 20 finishes in the past four events in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and China.

Among the players vying for a second taste of The Open Championship is Buckle. The 23 year old, who played in The Open two years ago, has finished runner-up twice in his last three tournaments in Indonesia and China and the Serapong course also holds good memories for the young Aussie as he finished third in the Singapore Open last September.

Thai sensation Thaworn Wiratchant is the sole Asian Tour player to gain automatic exemption into The Open, a reward for being crowned the 2005 Order of Merit winner.

IFQ – ASIA ENTRIES

1 Shiv Kapur, India
2 Andrew Buckle, Australia
3 Jarrod Lyle, Australia
4 Terry Pilkadaris, Australia
5 Marcus Both, Australia
6 Scott Strange, Australia
7 Jeev Milkha Singh, India
8 Yeh Wei-tze, Chinese Taipei
9 Prom Meesawat, Thailand
10 Chapchai Nirat, Thailand
11 Amandeep Johl, India
12 Yoshinobu Tsukada, Japan
13 Scott Barr, Australia
14 Mahal Pearce, New Zealand
15 Soushi Tajima, Japan
16 Mardan Mamat, Singapore
17 Eddie Lee, New Zealand
18 Gavin Flint, Australia
19 Adam Groom, Australia
20 Angelo Que, Philippines
21 Adam Fraser, Australia
22 Akinori Tani, Japan
23 Adam Le Vesconte, Australia
24 Jason Dawes, Australia
25 Unho Park, Australia
26 Danny Chia, Malaysia
27 Lee Sung, Korea
28 Richard Moir, Australia
29 Rahil Gangjee, India
30 Bryan Saltus, USA
31 Sushi Ishigaki, Japan
32 Jochen Lupprian, Germany
33 Corey Harris, USA
34 James Stewart, Hong Kong
35 Chang Tse-peng, Chinese Taipei
36 Kyi Hla Han, Myanmar
37 David Gleeson, Australia

ABOUT SENTOSA GOLF CLUB

The Open Championship International Final Qualifying – Asia will take place on Sentosa’s par-71 Serapong championship course, the permanent home of The Singapore Open. Designed by leading course designer Ronald Fream, the course at Sentosa Golf Club has been regularly voted among Asia’s top golf courses. In March 2006, Serapong picked up its latest award from the Asian Golf Monthly magazine which named it ‘Best Course in Singapore’.

March 31, 2006