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65 hopefuls to compete for four Open Championship berths

A total of 65 players primarily from the Asian Tour will compete for four places in the Open Championship at the International Final Qualifying – Asia at Sentosa Golf Club from March 31 to April 1.

Chinese star Liang Wen-chong, who played in all four rounds at Royal Birkdale last year after earning an exemption through his Order of Merit success in 2007, will be amongst the top names heading to Singapore next week.

Other leading names who will do battle in the 36-hole shootout include Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing, Mardan Mamat and amateur Quency Quek, Malaysia’s Danny Chia, Filipino Angelo Que, Australian Adam Blyth and current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Anthony Kang of the United States.

Lam, winner of the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok last December, will be shooting for a third straight appearance at the world’s oldest major and will be looking to sparkle at the Sentosa’s Serapong course once more.

At the Barclays Singapore Open in November, he brilliantly played his way into the final group on Sunday alongside American superstar Phil Mickelson before settling for a top-20 finish.

Like Lam, Chia, Que and Blyth also qualified to compete in Royal Birkdale last year and they will be hoping to sparkle at Sentosa, which is the home of the Asian Tour.

Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, Asia’s number one in 2005, will also be looking to play his way back into the British Open. He competed in the Open in 2006 at Royal Liverpool and enjoyed a tied 31st finish after featuring in the top-10 at the halfway stage of the championship.

Thaworn will be joined by compatriots Prom Meesawat, seeking a maiden Major outing.

India’s upcoming talent Gaganjeet Bhullar, Shiv Kapur, who qualified in 2006, and Rahil Gangjee will also be amongst the 65-man field shooting for a place at the Open Championship.

Japanese stars Tomohiro Kondo and Keiichiro Fukabori, winners on the Japan Tour, will also play in Sentosa.

Three categories of player were eligible to participate in International Final Qualifiying:

1. Past Open Champions.
2. Any player with OWGR pointage at date of entry. A place in the starting field of IFQ is subject to OWGR ranking on the closing date (March 12).
3. Anyone who played in the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

The following players will compete for the four available places -
Player/Country/World Ranking on March 12, 2009:

Wen-Chong Liang China 134
Anthony Kang USA 138
Seung-Yul Noh Korea 160
David Gleeson Australia 167
Tomohiro Kondo Japan 172
Thaworn Wiratchant Thailand 178
Chih Bing Lam Singapore 193
Adam Blyth Australia 253
Mikko Ilonen Finland 266
Keiichiro Fukabori Japan 273
Scott Hend Australia 291
Andrew Dodt Australia 297
Ben Leong Malaysia 308
Terry Pilkadaris Australia 332
Mitchell Brown Australia 342
Rick Kulacz Australia 362
Wei-Chih Lu Taiwan 367
Chinnarat Phadungsil Thailand 377
Masaya Tomida Japan 383
Angelo Que Philippines 389
Danny Chia Malaysia 408
Sushi Ishigaki Japan 412
Gaganjeet Bhullar India 413
Keith Horne South Africa 418
Mars Pucay Philippines 426
Han Lee USA 438
Prom Meesawat Thailand 444
Shiv Kapur India 451
Darren Beck Australia 457
Mardan Mamat Singapore 460
Unho Park Australia 469
Gavin Flint Australia 508
Somkiat Srisanga Thailand 512
Ashun Wu China 517
Tadahiro Takayama Japan 532
Marcus Both Australia 535
Guido Van Der Valk Netherlands 540
George Coetzee South Africa 545
Tony Carolan Australia 554
Yasin Ali England 581
Artemio Murakami Philippines 588
Mark Purser New Zealand 640
Bryan Saltus USA 643
Rahil Gangjee India 646
Neven Basic Australia 675
Atthaphon Prathummanee Thailand 677
Hyung-Sung Kim Korea 715
Yoshinobu Tsukada Japan 741
Young Nam USA 742
James Kruger South Africa 764
Zaw Moe Myanmar 766
Simon Dunn Scotland 806
David Bransdon Australia 849
Adam Le Vesconte Australia 904
Richard Lee New Zealand 909
Wei-Tze Yeh Taiwan 982
Harmeet Kahlon India 991
Rohan Blizard Australia 1013
Pariya Junhasavasdikul Thailand 1041
Gurbaaz Mann India 1047
Tim Stewart Australia 1095
Ally Mellor England 1104
Lu-sen Lien Taiwan 1131
Airil Rizman Malaysia 1152
Quincy Quek (A) Singapore 1251

March 27, 2009