Jakarta, April 14 - A champions-laden cast from the Asian Tour will be out to challenge title holder Lee Westwood of England at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters presented by PNTS next week.
Asia’s history-maker Thongchai Jaidee, who holds an unprecedented three Order of Merit titles and 13 victories, will spearhead an elite field which will include no fewer than 40 winners at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club from April 19 to 22.
World number three Westwood, fresh from his third place finish at the Masters Tournament, and Major champions Ian Woosnam of Wales and Michael Campbell of New Zealand will also headline the US$750,000 full-field Asian Tourevent.
Six of this season’s winners, Australia’s Scott Hend and Kieran Pratt, Indian duo Digvijay Singh and Anirban Lahiri, American David Lipsky and Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat, will compete in the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters presented by PNTS with the aim of securing a second victory of the season.
Other leading contenders from Asia will include sweet-swinging Thai Prayad Marksaeng, Lu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei, 12-time Asian Tour winner Thaworn Wiratchant and Bangladeshi star Siddikur.
All eyes will also be on former world amateur number one Peter Ulhein of the United States, who has received a sponsor’s invitation to compete at Royale Jakarta, and Sri Lankan prospect Mithun Perera, who finished second in the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic last week.
The highly-decorated Thongchai finished second in last year’s Indonesian Masters, three shots behind Westwood. The veteran will be hoping to go one spot higher next week and will count on his belly putter to shoot him to a 14th career victory.
“My putting is getting better, I’ve got more confidence now with the belly putter,” said Thongchai, who opted for the longer stick at the start of the new season.
The Thai knows he needs to continue to work hard at his game and acknowledged that it was now getting tougher to challenge for honors especially with the rise of the new generation of Asian golfers.
Big-hitting Hend, winner in Singapore last week, will be hoping of extend his rich vein of form. The two-time Asian Tour winner hopes his booming drives will play to his advantage where he has averaged 316 yards off the tee this year.
“I went back to Florida and got myself a brand new set of clubs, new wedges and a brand new three-wood. Everything is brand new except for my putter and driver. I spend the past four weeks practicing and hitting like 400 to 500 balls a day,” said Hend.
Sponsors and partners of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will enjoy widespread exposure via a strong local media platform and the Asian Tour’s global television platform, which reaches out to over 200 countries and 650 million households live of the highlights in TV programs such as Asian Tour Golf Show and Golfing World.
Indonesia’s premier news channel, Metro TV, will also be broadcasting the event locally for 10 hours live and will be airing additional shows and features related to the event. This will give positive impact to Indonesia.
Other partners participating as the event’s Presenting Sponsor include: Pelayaran Nasional Tanjungriau Service (PNTS), Garuda Indonesia (Official Airline), BMW (Official Car), Coca-Cola (Official Drinks Partner), Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta (Official Hotel), Thiess Indonesia (Main Partner), Navigat Energy (Main Partner), Linc Group (Main Partner), Hush Puppies Golf (Official Apparel), San Miguel (Official Beer), Blackberry (Official Handset), Srixon (Official Ball), Ricoh (Official Office Equipment) and Casillero del Diablo (Official Wine).
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