Bangkok: Three of the past weekend's winners from three corners of the world will converge at the fifth edition of the Thailand Golf Championship, which gets underway in Chonburi on Thursday.
Sergio Garcia, who claimed his first victory in nearly two years at the Asian Tour's Ho Tram Open, Bubba Watson, winner of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, and new Australian PGA champion Nathan Holman will arrive at the award-winning Amata Spring Country Club as the hottest players in game – and each will be highly fancied of challenging for the prestigious Thailand Golf Championship title and ending their respective seasons with a second win in as many weeks.
"I haven't won in a while, so it gives me a lot of confidence heading into Thailand, where I have enjoyed success in the past," said Garcia, who won the Thailand Golf Championship in 2013 with a record 22-under-par total.
"To repeat the win in Thailand would be the perfect way to head into the Christmas break," added the Spaniard, who prevailed following a four-way play-off in Vietnam.
Garcia will need to be at his best if he wishes to fulfill his ambition, however, because in Watson he faces a player who romped to a comprehensive victory over a stellar PGA Tour field in the Bahamas. The two-time Masters champion, who will be playing in his fourth consecutive Thailand Golf Championship, fired a final-round 66 for a three-shot win over Patrick Reed at the Tiger Woods-hosted event.
"I finished in second place in my first year in Thailand [2012] but I haven't played as well there as I would have liked since then," said the world number four. "Hopefully I can bring my game to Thailand and end 2015 with another win."
Holman, who won his first European Tour event on the first play-off hole at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, had earmarked the Thailand Golf Championship, which is part of The R&A's Open Qualifying Series, as a way of earning his berth at Royal Troon next year. His Australian PGA win, however, means he ends the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in first place, qualifying him for both The Open and the World Golf Championships.
"I was hoping to go to Thailand tomorrow and win a British Open spot but it looks like I've done it early," said Holman, who will be looking to become the first Australian to win the Thailand Golf Championship.
Also participating in the US$1 million Asian Tour flagship event are two-time Thailand Golf Championship winner Lee Westwood, last year's runner-up Martin Kaymer, European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke, Victor Dubuisson of France, Welshman Jamie Donaldson, European Tour Rookie of the Year An Byeong-hun, Japan Golf Tour money list winner KT Kim as well as local favourites Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
