Home favourites look forward to Samui challenge

The Bangkok Airways Open promises to provide a thrilling climax to the first half of the Asian Tour season with home favourites Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and title holder Chawalit Plaphol leading the title charge next week.

Thongchai will head into the US$300,000 tournament with renewed confidence after delivering his best result this year at the BMW PGA Championship in Wenthworth when he finished tied eighth on Sunday while Thaworn, an eight-time winner on the Asian Tour, will be craving for a first ever win on home soil.

But the dynamic duo will face an uphill task from June 7-10 with the presence of the big movers this season who include in-form Indian talent Gaurav Ghei, who won the Pine Valley Beijing Open in April, Australia’s Unho Park, who is riding high in 15th place on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit, and Scotsman Simon Yates who claimed his third straight top-10 result at the SK Telecom Open in Korea last week.

Ghei’s seventh place standing on the UBS Order of Merit is a reflection of his formidable form this season where he has also chalked up three top-10 finishes. Returning for the third straight year to Koh Samui, the 38-year-old will be on the defensive playing on a course dubbed by many as the “Samui Beast”.

“The course has no margin for error and I have to keep the ball in play, especially on the back nine. There is no let up and I have to hit good shots. If someone plays well, there are a lot of birdie opportunities because they will be hitting short irons in there.

"It’s one of those weeks where you will never know what’s going to happen until the very end. It’s an exciting week for everybody,” said Ghei.

“I always look forward to Samui. It’s such a great place and is very relaxing. It’s laid back with great food, beaches and a wonderful golf course. It’s the perfect place to have a tournament before the mid-year break,” he added.

Being one of the very few players who have played in all the 15 events so far this season, Singapore-based Park hopes to make full use of the much needed break this week in preparation of the grueling task ahead on one of Thailand’s renowned holiday isle.

“Driving is crucial there. Thankfully, I’m hitting the driver good these days. I hope to rest and recuperate this week. I would probably head to the driving range and hit a few balls but that’s about it,” said Park, who finished in the top-10 in 2005.

“My goal is to stay in the top-20 on the UBS Order of Merit ranking and so far, I’m halfway there. I haven’t done anything out of the ordinary with my game but I think my experience has seen me through to a good run this year. I’ve had my ups and downs but thanks to what I’ve learnt in the past, it’s showing now,” admitted Park.

Surprisingly, Thai-based Yates has never played in Samui despite the fact that he has lived in Thailand for the past 15 years.

“In my 15 years that I’ve lived in Thailand, I’ve never been to Koh Samui,” said Yates, with two wins in Asia. “I heard the view is fantastic but the course is very challenging. If it gets windy it might be a problem but I’m happy with the way I’m swinging it.

“I’m also well aware that the course requires a lot of walking and you have to be fit, so I’m going to do a lot of swimming this week. It’s very tight and I can’t hit driver that much but we’ll see how it turns out,” added the 37-year-old speedster, who is also an avid racing car driver.

Local hero Chawalit will return to defend his title against the likes of Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wen-teh who finished fourth last year. Lu, winner of the Bangkok Airways Open in 2005, is currently in winning form after lifting the Macau Open title two weeks ago.

Also in the mix are Malaysia’s Airil Rizman, who won the Pakistan Open in January and the TCL Classic winner Chapchai Nirat of Thailand.

The Bangkok Airways Open is the 16th leg of this season’s Asian Tour Schedule which is offering 29 tournaments with a total prize purse of over US$28 million.

May 31, 2007

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