Kuala Lumpur: Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant is not taking anything for granted after Marcus Fraser of Australia paved the way for him to lift a second Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.
Fraser regained top spot on the rankings after finishing third at the UBS Hong Kong Open on Sunday but said later that he would not play in the remaining three events of the season in Thailand and Malaysia due to clashes with tournaments in Australia.
The big Aussie picked up US$125,200 to increase his season’s haul to US$652,344, which is slightly over US$24,000 ahead of Thaworn, who finished tied 22nd over the weekend.
Fraser said: “I'm not going to play the two events in Thailand and possibly in Johor, so I'm pretty sure Thaworn will bank some dollars there and it will be his. We've got the Australian Open and the Australian PGA the same week at home and I haven't played any events at home this year. I really should be going back to Australia and playing some events.”
The 45-year-old Thaworn, a three-time winner this season, knows there is plenty of golf left to play if he is to capture a second Order of Merit crown in his career after winning the prestigious title in 2005.
While he leads third-placed Jbe Kruger of South Africa by over US$174,000 and fourth-ranked Gaganjeet Bhullar of India by over US$205,000, the Thai veteran prefers to take a cautious approach.
The remaining Asian Tour events in 2012 are next week’s US$500,000 King’s Cup in Thailand, followed by the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship and the season-finale US$2 million Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia.
Should a player wins all three events, the champion’s cheques will total up to over US$550,000, which is why Thaworn prefers to keep the champagne on ice for the time being.
“There are still three events left to play and I don’t want to think that far. They offer a total of US$3.5 million and anything can happen. But of course, I still want to play my best and hopefully it’ll be good enough to win the Order of Merit for the second time,” said Thaworn, who has accumulated US$628,131 this season.
“Golf is all about discipline. I’ve got a strict training regime where I practice from dawn to dusk and I make it a point to eat healthy and stay fit. Of course, my years of experience on Tour help to keep me in contention week after week. I didn’t finish the way I wanted in Hong Kong as my shots went all over the place and I just didn’t putt well. I’ll reassess my game at home next week and get ready for the last three events.”
The top-60 players will retain full playing rights for the 2013 season. This will ensure a tantalizing battle in the coming weeks as well for players fighting for their Tour cards.