Macao: Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat is ready to navigate his way to victory at the US$1 million Venetian Macao Open starting on Thursday to cement his position in the world’s top-50.
After jumping into a career high 49th place with a second successive top-five finish in Europe last week, the big-hitting Kiradech now turns his attention to the treacherous Macau Golf and Country Club which is hosting the Asian Tour’s finest who include title holder Anirban Lahiri of India, countryman Thongchai Jaidee, second-ranked Andrew Dodt of Australia, Chinese ace Liang Wen-chong and four-time Major winner Ernie Els.
“My game is on fire right now,” declared Kiradech, who has triumphed twice in China and Scotland this year. “My game is solid and I’m hitting the ball great. My iron play is sharp.
If you look at the past few months, my results have improved.”
The 26-year former Asian Tour number one is no longer just interested to grip it-and-rip it to please his fans, preferring instead to think his way around golf courses to achieve the right results.
“I’m choosing the right shots now. I’m growing up and thinking better. It’s made my game much better and I’m improving,” he said.
“When I played last week (in England), I laid up on a par four which was 272 yards to the flag and I hit a four iron. My playing partner Robert Karlsson came up and asked ‘what’s wrong bro, are you sick?’ as I was hitting driver against him at every hole during the Paul Lawrie Match Play final. But on that hole last week, my driver was too long and I didn’t want to hit a controlled three wood as there’s water. So I laid up and I still got a birdie there.
“This course here doesn’t suit my game as it’s narrow. But I think I’m more cool-headed on the course and I’m sure there will be a lot more three woods and irons off the tees here.”
He was happy to break into the world’s top-50 for the first time and said the goal now was to remain in the elite bracket to get himself into the World Golf Championships and Majors, such as the Masters Tournament, next season.
“I want to play more in the big events. I’ve practiced hard and now that I’m in the top 50, I want to stay there and maybe jump into the top-40 next. I want to play in events like the Masters,” he said.
Countryman Thongchai, who featured in the Presidents Cup last week for the Internationals where he contributed 1.5 points, is keen to improve on his Venetian Macao Open record where he has two top-10s and one top-20 in his last three visits.
“It’s nice to be back in Macao again. The course seems more difficult as the rough is growing and is very long. It’ll be important to hit fairways,” said the former paratrooper, who won in Germany last month.
“I’m confident coming back to play on the Asian Tour. I’ve played well recently, played the Presidents Cup and I’m fresh. We have a strong field here and we’re playing for US$1 million which is good for everyone.”
Australian Dodt, who is second on the Order of Merit, is prepared to challenge leader Lahiri in the Merit race although he trails by some US$548,000. He hopes a recent six-week break at home to recharge his batteries and fine-tune his game will provide the spark needed for a second win of the season.
“I had three weeks of doing nothing, just getting my energy back, feeling fresh and then I got back into the gym and started to practice. I led after two rounds here in 2009 and finished top-10 and there’s a massive premium on hitting it straight,” said the 29-year-old Aussie.
“This time of the year is a good time to be playing well as we’ve got some really big events. I think about the Order of Merit quite a bit actually. Anirban has got a bit of a healthy lead and it’ll take a lot to chase him down. But having said that, there are some big events and if you win one, it’s a nice big cheque. You just have to try to play well week in week out and the rest will take care of itself,” he said.
Liang, the first Chinese to win the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2007, is hoping to emulate Zhang Lian-wei’s success at the Venetian Macao Open. A runner-up finish in Chinese Taipei and a tied sixth in Japan in the past fortnight have given him confidence.
“I’m in good form with a top-10 last week and I’m also looking forward to playing with Ernie in the first two rounds,” said Liang, who was victorious in Japan in the middle of the year.
The Venetian Macao Open, into its 17th edition, will see its total prize fund increase for a third consecutive year, taking it to the all-important US$1 million mark.
The Venetian Macao Open is organised by the Macao Sport Development Board of Macao SAR Government and the Golf Association of Macau. Sanctioned by the latter and the Asian Tour, The Venetian® Macao is supporting the iconic event as title sponsor for the fourth successive year.