2006 Aamby Valley Asian Masters

Promising talents such as Chapchai Nirat of Thailand, Gerald Rosales of the Philippines, American Ron Won, India's Ashok Kumar and Aussie duo Gavin Flint and Brad Kennedy have all been knocking on the door for a maiden Asian Tour success and could well pull off a victory in India.

Amongst the young talents, big-hitting Chapchai has shown the greatest potential since bursting onto the scene last season. He first hit headlines by grabbing the joint first round lead at the Singapore Open before finishing 11th and followed that up with a second place outing at the Taiwan Open.

Presently ranked 22nd on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, the 23-year-old has enjoyed a strong season so far, placing fifth at the OSIM Singapore Masters where he challenged for the title during the final round.

"I feel like I'm getting really close to winning but I'm in no rush," said the amiable Chapchai. "It was nice challenging in Singapore and I came close to the leaders. The experience was really good and hopefully, I will be able to contend again."

Chapchai is a wonderful example of how Thai players mature into top stars. Growing up in Chiangmai, north of Thailand, he turned professional at a tender age of 15, saying "I wanted to make a living for myself."

He laboured on the mini tours across the region, winning once in Malaysia, and learned the ropes from senior Thai players like Boonchu Ruangkit and Thaworn Wiratchant. The experience proved invaluable as he broke through in a big way in 2005, finishing 29th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit with two top-10s.

For Rosales, who was rated highly when he was an amateur, it has been a difficult past few seasons where he lost his full playing rights on the Asian Tour. This year, he has played only twice and will be eager to take full advantage of his appearance at the Aamby Valley Golf Club.

The 29-year-old Rosales, whose sister Jennifer is a star on the LPGA Tour, is desperately looking to regain the form that helped him lift the 2000 Philippine Open, which wasn't part of the Asian Tour Schedule then.

He has been spending numerous hours at the practice range getting himself ready, and the Aamby Valley Asian Masters could well see the return to form by the talented Filipino.

Won, 25, is another young up-and-coming coming player who is touted as a future winner in Asia. He earned his Tour card from Qualifying School last season, thanks to his mum who was his caddie then and subsequently finished 47th on the Order of Merit in his rookie year.

This season, Won, who attended the same college as Tiger Woods at Stanford, has struggled with inconsistency but he has is strongly tipped to challenge again soon.

Australia's Flint is playing in his rookie season on the Asian Tour and he enjoyed a terrific start, finishing tied ninth in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth in February. "It was a great start to the year for me and I really enjoyed the result," said Flint.

Kennedy, who enjoyed two seasons on the European Tour, is back in Asia again and with six top-10s in the region, including two runner-up finishes, under his name, the man from the Gold Coast will be looking to sparkle at Aamby Valley, which will host the 13th leg of this season's Asian Tour.

May 7, 2006

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