Jakarta, April 30 - Thai rising star Arnond Vongvanij wants to keep the ‘silly mistakes’ off his scorecard when he vies for a second Asian Tour title at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters which starts on Thursday.The pint-sized golfer will search for honors against an elite field which includes four-time Major champion Ernie Els of South Africa, three-time Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and 2011 Open Championship winner Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland.
Arnond was the joint halfway leader in the last week’s Asian Tour event in Korea but eventually finished in tied 26th place. He hopes to learn from that experience and bounce back in the third edition of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.
“I learnt a lot last week. Being in contention in Korea gave me a perspective of what I need to do when I’m in contention in a big event. I just made easy mistakes which I shouldn’t have. This week, I’m going to focus and be more careful so I don’t make silly mistakes,” said the 24-year-old.
Playing at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club will bring back some fond memories for Arnond, who was two shots off the lead in the first round before settling for tied 27th.
“I played quite well here on the first day so I’m looking forward to this week. Like any other course, you need to hit a lot fairways and greens,” he said.
He won his first Asian Tour title at the 2012 King’s Cup on home soil last year but admits that he has been trying to cope with the pressure to win his second Asian Tour victory.
“I was putting too much pressure on myself to do well. That didn’t work out too well because I started to get too tense. I wasn’t enjoying the game as much and I didn’t get the results which I wanted. I’m just trying to enjoy the game and have fun,” said Arnond.
“I’ve started to enjoy the game again after Chiangmai. I played well in Chiangmai and in the Philippines but I didn’t make any putts. I continued to play well in Korea so it shows that my game plan is coming along pretty good.”
Thongchai, holder of three Order of Merit titles and winner of the 2009 Indonesian Open, finished tied sixth in Korea on Sunday and hopes to carry the momentum into the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.
“It will be very challenging but I have a good chance to win this tournament. I’m going to try to win it. I always enter a tournament with the thought that I can win. I guess that’s the key to my success so far,” said Thongchai, a 13-time Asian Tour champion.
He is wary of the strong challenges this week especially from the upcoming Thai stars. “The young Thais are playing well. It is good for my country. They have been performing well in the big events and you see them on the leaderboard almost every week. It is a good thing.”
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