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Prom wants to make a splash at Volkswagen Masters China

Thailand's rising star Prom Meesawat is ready to ignite his bid to become Asia's number one with a victory at the Volkswagen Masters-China starting on Thursday.

The talented Prom has great incentive to sparkle at Sanya's Yalong Bay Golf Club as he is paired with 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell and European Tour star Phillip Price for the opening two rounds.

World number seven Retief Goosen of South Africa starts as favourite to retain his title in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event but Prom, 22, is hoping to upstage the big guns in what is the third edition of the Volkswagen Masters-China.

Apart from the stars, Prom also has Jeev Milkha Singh firmly in his sights. The Thai trails the Indian leader by approximately US$138,000 on the UBS Order of Merit and with Singh not competing over the next two tournaments, Prom knows he can steal a march on his chief rival.

"It's good that I'll play with Michael Campbell and Phillip Price. I've never played with them before but whenever I have a good pairing, it always makes me try a bit better and focus harder," said Prom, winner of this season's SK Telecom Open in Korea.

The burly Prom, nicknamed the "Big Dolphin" due to his physique and the fact that he lives in the coastal town of Hua Hin, lost in a play-off to compatriot Chinarat Phadungsil for the Crowne Plaza Open at Yalong Bay in August.

Next week's Tour stop at the Delhi Golf Club is also a favourite hunting ground for Prom as he finished third in India last year, hence his confidence of narrowing the gap on Singh.

"It's good to come back to Yalong Bay. We've played here on several occasions now that we know where to hit the ball. My form hasn't been too good though in recent times. I didn't strike the ball well during the Korean Open but in Taipei over the past couple of weeks, I've been hitting it a bit better. I just need some luck.

"I'm thinking about the Order of Merit. If I can play well in these two tournaments, it would be a good boost for me as the last two events on our Schedule are big-money events. I can still challenge Jeev."

Price, a three-time winner on the European Tour, will be looking to make it third-time lucky in the Volkswagen Masters-China. In the inaugural event in Beijing two years ago, he finished third.

The Welshman has found new spark in his game, thanks to a third place finish in Madrid several few weeks ago and Europe's Ryder Cup success over the United States last month.

"My game has been pretty good recently, I'm optimistic. I'm playing a lot better and looking to play well this week," said Price.

He admitted his game suffered a knock after taking time off to be with his wife following the arrival of their second child in February. But he is confident of charting his way back amongst Europe's elite once more.

"I think because of the long break I wasn't really ready to play and struggled to play in the middle. I'm starting to play well again and will try to carry this through and not take a big break this winter. I still feel fresh," said Price.

With the Ryder Cup slated to be held in Wales in 2010, Price is dreaming of fighting his way back into the team after his only appearance in 2002 where he was hailed a hero after defeating Phil Mickelson in the singles.

"I missed being a part of that (last month). I think the Ryder Cup will be one of my goals. I'm going to be 40 in a few weeks time and my goal is to play the next two Ryder Cups. It's going to Wales in 2010 (at Celtic Manor Resort) and that's what I want to get into. It's 10 minutes from where I live. That's going to be my main focus," said Price.

It is also back to the grind for last week's champion Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei. After breaking through with a maiden triumph at the Taiwan Open, Lin is looking for more success at Yalong Bay.

He also intends to listen to his wife's advice. "She's told me to just play the game and enjoy it. Win or lose, it doesn't matter," said Lin.

"Everything was just so good last week. I have been using a new driver since two weeks ago and it's given me an additional 15 yards from off the tee. That's been really helpful as it makes the par fives play a lot easier for me.

"It's good to be back at Yalong Bay. The rough is longer this week, so the key would be to find the fairways regularly which I'm quite confident of doing. I lost in a play-off here a couple of months ago, so maybe I can continue to shoot some good scores and win this tournament."

October 11, 2006