Minoza heads Open Qualifying field at Sentosa

Filipino legend Frankie Minoza will head a field of 77 players at The Open International Final Qualifying in a bid to earn four tickets to The Open Championship in July.

Coming into the qualifiers as the highest ranked player, Minoza will lead the Asian charge alongside local favourite Mardan Mamat, India’s Shiv Kapur, who was Asian Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2005, compatriot Amandeep Johl, young guns Chinarat Phadungsil of Thailand and Filipino’s Juvic Pagunsan, who will all tee off at the Sentosa Golf Club from March 27-28.

The top four players from the qualifiers will book their spot to The Open from July 19-22 at Carnoustie in Scotland.

Minoza has enjoyed multiple triumphs in the region including Japan and for a player who has had a major experience at The Masters, he will be itching for a similar outing when he tees off in July.

This year has proven to be fruitful for Minoza who enjoyed his most memorable triumph at the Philippine Open last month. He continued to soar up the ranks when he finished third in Indonesia and is currently placed sixth on the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit.

Mardan, who tasted success on home soil at the 2006 Singapore Masters, will be looking at making his third appearance at The Open while Kapur will be eager for a repeat performance after making it through to his first ever outing at The Open last year.

The Singaporean finished on top of the qualifiers two years ago and after missing out in 2006, Mardan will be determined to lead the pack at the Tanjong Course.

Korea’s Lee Sung will return to Sentosa in renewed strength after missing his opportunity when he lost in a play-off to Kapur last year while Chinarat, 18, who is riding on good form, will be bidding to be among the youngest player to qualify in this edition.

Returning to form after being struck down by injury, Pagunsan will be tipped for a promising showing in Sentosa. The Filipino youngster, voted as the ‘Rookie of the Year’ on the Asian Tour last season, returned to competitive golf at the TCL Classic last week after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained last month.

India’s Gaurav Ghei, who ended an 11-year wait with a triumph at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last year, will be geared up to make his appearance at the world’s oldest major. He created history by becoming the first ever player from his country to qualify for The Open back in 1997.

The other notable players vying for the top four spots include Australia’s Scott Strange, two-time winner on the Asian Tour, Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol, who won the Bangkok Airways Open last year, India’s Rahil Gangjee, Korean youngster Park Jun-won, Barry Hume of Scotland, Yeh Wei-tze of Chinese Taipei, and highest ranked Japanese player Keiichiro Fukabori.

Also in the mix is Danny Chia who made history in 2005 when he became the second ever Malaysian to qualify for The Open after Iain Steel.

The top four players will face the cream of the crop at Carnoustie that include former winners Ernie Els of South Africa and Englishman Nick Faldo. This is the seventh time Carnoustie will play host to The Open.

March 23, 2007

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