Thawon turns up heat in Taiwan

Thaworn Wiratchant's determined push for the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown continues on Thursday when he defends the US$400,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, his fifth straight tournament appearance.

The 38-year-old Thai will be the man to beat at Taiwan Golf and Country Club's Tamsui course following his victory at last week's Taiwan Open, thanks to a final round 64.

His second triumph of the season saw Thaworn regain his merit lead with a current haul of US$391,563, which is already a new Asian Tour record for earnings in a single season.

Thaworn's main challenge at the famed Tamsui course could come from four players inside the top-10 of the Asian Tour Order of Merit, namely Prom Meesawat of Thailand and the Australian trio of Andrew Buckle, Scott Barr and Marcus Both.

Several former champions are also in the fray including Gerry Norquist of the United States and Chinese Taipei's Chen Tze-chung, Wang Ter-chang, Lu Wen-teh, Tsai Chi-huang and Yeh Chang-ting, who was sixth in last year's event.

Despite playing in his fifth straight week, Thaworn is upbeat ahead of his title defence. "As the defending champion, it's important for me to play. I'm feeling okay and with good rest and good food, I'll be up for the challenge here this week," said Thaworn, who won the co-sanctioned Standard Chartered Indonesia Open in March.

With a lead of US$45,000 over second-ranked Thongchai Jaidee, last year's number one, Thaworn intends to keep the momentum going in the race to become the new Order of Merit winner.

Thongchai, who was also Asia 's top ranked player in 2001, is splitting his time between Asia and Europe this season and Thaworn intends to take full advantage of his compatriot's absence. Thaworn said he was set to play in every event leading up to the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia on home soil in December, meaning he could be on the road for another 11 straight tournaments.

"I will play in every tournament as I want to win the Order of Merit, which is my main goal," said Thaworn. "After this week, I'll be going to China for the Crowne Plaza Open and the only break that I may enjoy is the World Cup Qualifying week in Malaysia early next month.

"If I gain direct entry into the World Cup in Portugal (in November) through my world ranking, then I'll have a week off. If I don't, I'll be in Malaysia to qualify," said Thaworn, whose run of events started on the domestic Thai circuit last month before visits to China , Singapore and Taipei last week.

Twelve months ago, Thaworn triumphed at Tamsui with a five-under-par 283 winning total. With the fairways getting firmer this week, he believes that eight under total could be the winning number.

"It's been windy this week and that could make it difficult again. The greens are difficult to read and the fairways are running fast. You need to hit good drives as any errant shots could land in the jungle that fringe some of the holes," said Thaworn, who dropped only one bogey and one triple bogey all week in his Taiwan Open success.

All eyes will also be on 22-year-old Thai Chapchai Nirat, who has emerged as an exciting prospect on the Asian Tour. The little-known Chapchai burst onto the scene with a strong performance at the Singapore Open two weeks ago, grabbing a share of the first round lead before finishing 11th, and challenged Thaworn for the title last Sunday before settling for second place.

Australian Scott Strange, who was the third round leader at the Taiwan Open before finishing tied third, has stayed on in Taipei and could well contend again this week. India 's Shiv Kapur, who enjoyed his first top-10 of the season last week, will also be looking for an improved performance in his second week in Taipei .

The 19th Mercuries Taiwan Masters is the 19th leg of this season's Asian Tour.

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