India, Malaysia & Singapore favourites for World Cup places

India, Malaysia and Singapore are firm favourites to challenge for two tickets to the WGC-World Cup in Barbados when 14 nations tee off in the Qualifier at Seri Selangor Golf Club on Wednesday.

Local stalwarts Danny Chia, the 2002 Taiwan Open champion, and Iain Steel who has three top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour this season, will carry the Malaysian hopes while Shiv Kapur and Gaurav Ghei will represent India.

Singapore's Lam Chih Bing and Mardan Mamat will aim for a hat-trick of appearances after featuring in two World Cups previously as a team.

In-form Francesco Molinari, who won the Italian Open earlier this season and was runner-up at the Omega European Masters at the weekend, will team up with the experienced Emanuele Canonica.

Steel is looking forward to a successful campaign on a venue which saw him lift the Malaysian PGA Championship earlier this year. “I hope to do well. I hit the ball good last week but was unable to score,” said Steel, who finished tied 47th at the Barclays Singapore Open on Sunday.

“It’s good to fly the Malaysian flag and I am eager to compete in the World Cup in Barbados. But first things first, we have to book our place to get there. It's good to play with Danny again after teaming up for the first time last year and we know each other's game a bit better now,” he said.

The World Golf Championships-World Cup will be staged at Sandy Lane Resort in Barbados from December 7-10.

Despite nursing a sprained right ankle, Chia is determined to qualify for his third World Cup. Last year, he partnered Steel, who is of Scottish-Malaysian parentage, but they were unsuccessful. “My ankle is getting better. It does not affect my game as much as it did at the Pulai Springs Malaysian Masters two weeks ago,” said Chia.

“I feel good but the field here is tough with India, Italy and Singapore being the main contenders but hopefully this time around, it will be Malaysia,” he said.

Kapur, the reigning Volvo Masters of Asia winner and presently ranked sixth on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, is in good form after his fifth place finish in Singapore. Ghei and Kapur are good friends, playing practice rounds regularly in New Delhi and are also regular room-mates on Tour.

“We can’t just look at the top two spots but instead we will go all out and try to win this,” said Ghei, who played in the 1997 and 2003 World Cup.

“It’s going to be a fun week. I’m always proud to represent my country and it’s a good feeling but once I’m out on course, my focus will be solely on my game,” he added.

Kapur is also looking forward to a maiden World Cup visit. Last year's Rookie of the Year played in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in the United States last month and the British Open in July and he hopes to test his game against the world's best again in Barbados.

“There is strong team chemistry between us as we play four times a week when we’re back in India. We know each other's game pretty well,” said Kapur. "You want to play with the best in the world and after my experiences this year, I want to go out there and try my best and earn a spot for the World Cup.

"We're good enough a team to compete in Barbados, just like what Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa did last year in Portugal where they finished ninth,” he said.

The inseparable Mardan and Lam are tipped to shine as well at Seri Selangor, Malaysia's first bona-fide public golf course. “We’ve played team golf since we were amateurs. We know each other really well. Lam has got a lot of talent and we are looking to encourage each other this week,” said Mardan, who finished 12th at the Barclays Singapore Open.

Lam admits he is a different player when Mardan is by his side. “Mardan is so dependable and he helps relaxes my game. He allows me to be aggressive and on this course, you get rewarded for being aggressive. We are hoping to qualify again like last year. This course is a good test.”

The format for the Qualifier is the same as the World Cup, with fourball golf played on the first and third days and foursomes (or alternate shot) played on the second and final days.

The leading 18 players from different countries on the Official World Golf Ranking published on Monday will gain automatic entries into the World Cup. South America will host a qualifying round.

September 12, 2006

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