European Tour champions Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Søren Kjeldsen of Denmark are amongst the star names who will tee up alongside some rising talent at next week’s Maybank Malaysian Open.
The duo, who between them have claimed seven European Tour titles, will be joined at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club by Malaysian professionals Shaaban Hussin and Rashid Ismail, both of whom received invitations from title sponsors Maybank.
Jaidee, currently ninth in The Race to Dubai, heads to Kuala Lumpur in fine form, having finished tied fifth at last week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play, where he was beaten by the eventual winner Ian Poulter of England.
On the back of his performance the Thai ace, winner of the Malaysian Open in 2004 and 2005, climbed to 44th on the Official World Golf Ranking, one place higher than Kjeldsen.
The Dane, a three-time European Tour champion, has finished in the top 20 of the money list for the past three seasons, and will be looking to continue that trend in a Ryder Cup year.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, Hussin enjoyed a memorable 2009 season on the Asian Tour, securing his card for this season by finishing 65th on the Order of Merit. He was ranked as Malaysia’s number one amateur in 2001 and 2002.
Maybank Chairman, Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor, said: “The second wave of players committing to the Maybank Malaysian Open shows the appeal of the event from all Tours. Maybank has extended our invites this year to two strong local players in Rashid and Shaaban. Both players have worked hard at their game over the years, and will no doubt put in good performances to please the home crowd. It is important that the tournament reflects a good mixture of both local and international talent, which we have yet again.”
Anis Helmi Hassan, P. Gunasegaran, M. Sasidaran, Akhmal Tarmizie and Shukree Othman, the five Malaysian players who secured the coveted spots for local players in a qualifying tournament held on 19 and 20 January 2010, will be joined by Airil Rizman Zahari, S. Sivachandran and Nicklaus Fung, who received invitations from the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA).
Newly-inaugurated national amateurs Mohamad Hisyam, Gavin Kyle Green and Mohammad Iszaimi Ismail and Able Tam, will also be joining the local player contingent at the 49th edition of the €2million event.
The teenagers boast impressive recent record, with Hisyam capturing the men’s title at the Selangor Amateur Open golf championships in February, and Green handing Malaysia its first team title in the 2009 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open Championships, and winning the 2009 Malaysian Men’s Amateur Closed Golf Championship. Last October, Ismail also won the Faldo Series Malaysia Championship at Penang Golf Resort.
Datuk Robin Loh, President of the Malaysian Golf Association, said: “We are thrilled about the local line-up this year, with such promising talent playing alongside some of the best players from The European Tour and Asian Tour. Our local players gave a good fight during the qualifying tournament, while our national golfers show great potential. Spectators can definitely look forward to an interesting tournament.”
Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit will also be competing in the event. Ruangkit has made a mark on the Asian Tour since its first modern season in 1995, and has several victories under his belt. He was the runner-up on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 1995, made the top ten in 1998 and 2004, and won the Thailand Open for the second time in his career at the age of 47 in 2004. He finished in the top spot at the 2006 Champions Tour Qualifying School, and joined the Tour in 2007.
Additional invites to the tournament were extended to England’s Miles Tunnicliff and Scotland’s Andrew Coltart, twice a winner on The European Tour.
Australian Scott Strange, who collected his second European Tour victory in 2009 at the Volvo China Open to build on a strong 2008 season when he captured his maiden Tour title at The Celtic Manor Wales Open, is also in the field, as is rising star Danny Willett of England.
Willett of England, who secured eight top ten finishes in his maiden season on The European Tour last year, will be making his debut in the event.
