JOHNNIE WALKER CAMBODIAN OPEN RELATED STORIES Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open home page Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open Preview Round 1: Gleeson tops crowded leaderboard Round 2: Smith takes route 66 to two-shot lead Round 3: Smith leads by one from chasing Thais Round 4: Both grabs tight victory and ends drought Final Scores & Prize Money Asian Tour Order of Merit after the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open About the course Five to watch this week Kapur needs strong showing at Johnnie Walker Confident Prom eyes return to winning ways Faldo Champion Khan to tee up in Cambodia Trio head to Cambodia with Tour cards on their mind Kiradech and Rai plan Cambodian breakthrough Johnnie Walker continues Cambodia sponsorship 2008: Thongchai makes it two in a row 2007: Saltus claims maiden victory by three Details of the Phokeetra Country Club Golf Today's guide to golf courses in Cambodia MORE ASIAN GOLF NEWS Han Will Speak At IHT Sports Summit Volvik Agree With Asian Tour Over Sponsorship Memories Inspire Rai In Singapore Break Gives Mamat Route To Success Singapore Classic Welcomes Kia Motors PGA Malaysia Moves To OneAsia CCM Extends Sponsorship Of Impian Masters Faldo To Play In Pro-Am In Cambodia

 Event Preview - Kapur needs strong showing at Johnnie Walker

India’s Shiv Kapur hopes to maintain a personal milestone by retaining his Asian Tour card with a strong showing at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open starting on Thursday.

Since capping his Asian Tour debut with one victory in 2005, Kapur has successfully maintained his full playing rights in Asia but the former Rookie of the Year needs a top result at Phokeethra Country Club to keep his streak alive.

He will face tough opposition as a plethora of Asian Tour stars including Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing, 11-time Asian Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Anthony Kang of the United States, who is third on the Order of Merit, and the in-form Marcus Both of Australia are in the field this week.

Following his career breakthrough four years ago, the talented Kapur, who was the Asian Games gold medalist in 2002, has endured a few bumps in his career but he is confident of ending his season on a high note at the US$300,000 full field Asian Tour event.

“As a personal milestone since turning pro, I have always maintained my Asian Tour card and that is something I would like to carry on. I haven’t won in a few years but I feel my chances are better on this side of the world,” said Kapur today.

He is presently ranked 69th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and needs to break into the top-65 to maintain his status. As the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will be his last event of the season in the region, Kapur knows he needs to get the job done by this week.

Kapur arrived in Siem Reap with his confidence intact following a tied 48th outing in the UBS Hong Kong Open, which helped him secure his card in Europe for the fourth straight season.

“But one of my goals (every year) is to keep my card in Asia and to try to get a win before the end of the season. There isn’t one single factor that has held me back but I feel my game is steadily improving and it is getting back on track,” added the Indian.

Lam, who finished second at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open last season, is hoping to repeat last year’s performance which subsequently led him to a maiden victory on the Asian Tour.

“Finishing second here was my best finish at that point so it really gave me the confidence to win my maiden title. It is definitely my plan to try and finish strongly again,” said Lam.

The Singaporean has made 11 cuts in 14 tournaments this year and will be determined to improve on his best finish at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea where he ended in tied eighth place.

“I played okay over the last few weeks but it seems like in every tournament one bad round will pull me down. I have to find consistency for all four days and hopefully it will be this week,” he said.

The immensely talented Thaworn knows he can equal compatriot Thongchai Jaidee’s record of 12 Asian Tour wins. He has endured an up-and-down season but will look to his victory at the Macau Open earlier this season to spur him on.

“My consistency is very unbalanced. Sometimes I play good golf and sometimes I just lose my form. I have been training very hard to remain consistent and it has been slowly paying off.

“Equaling Thongchai’s record is not in my mind but I feel very comfortable playing on this course as it is near Thailand and it reminds me of home. I am hoping to do well,” said Asia’s number one in 2005.

As the penultimate event of the season, the battle for players to finish in the top-65 will also see the likes of Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands enduring a nervous week ahead.

The Dutchman is 74th on the rankings and is aiming to better last year’s tied 11th place finish at the highly rated par-72 Phokeethra course to boost his hopes of keeping his full card.

“My putting has been very average this season and I haven’t struck the ball as good as I normally do. But I have improved in the last couple of weeks. I have been working hard on my putting and if I can get that to click, I am confident of playing well and securing my Tour card,” said Van Der Valk who is searching for his maiden Asian Tour victory.

November 18, 2009