Thaworn Aiming For Success At CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters

Jakarta, April 25 - Reigning Order of Merit winner Thaworn Wiratchant will lead a stellar cast of Asian Tour stars to the third edition of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters, which will be headlined by British Open champion Ernie Els next week.

The highly decorated Thai veteran, who played in the Masters Tournament two weeks ago, is aiming for an unprecedented 16th Asian Tour title at the full field US$750,000 event at the immaculate Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

He will be joined by countrymen Thongchai Jaidee, who holds a record of three Order of Merit crowns, and Chawalit Plaphol, winner of the season-opening Zaykabar Myanmar Open, from May 2 to 5, 2013.

Anirban Lahiri of India, Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei and Australians Scott Hendry and Wade Ormsby, all winners on the Asian Tour this season, will be among the top contenders next week.

Els will be joined in the field by 2011 British Open winner Darren Clarke, Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, who finished tied seventh in last year’s edition, Michael Campbell of New Zealand, winner of the 2005 US Open, and two-time Major winner John Daly of the United States.

Thaworn hopes to continue his fine record in Indonesia where he won the 2005 Indonesian Open and finished second at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters last year. He knows a victory next week will solidify his position inside the top-100 of the Official World Golf Rankings where he is currently ranked 86th.

“I want to keep going and improving on my world ranking. I want to stay in the top-100,” said Thaworn. The 46-year-old credited his success to the growth of the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season in 2013.

“It has been a perfect 10 years for me because my career has taken off. I keep getting better and better and if this was a company, it would mean that I got a promotion in my career,” he said.

Thongchai will make his third appearance at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters and will be on a mission to win his first title in Asia since 2010. He enjoyed a solid season last year where he won the Wales Open.

“I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself. If I can win again, that’s good. But if I can’t, I’ll try harder in the next tournament. In golf, you never know. There are lots of ups and down but more importantly, you got to keep going even though the week may not be going well for you,” said Thongchai, who is looking forward for the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters next week.