JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia — Man of the moment Juvic Pagunsan will seek to overcome his playoff defeat in Singapore with a victory at the Iskandar Johor Open starting Thursday.
Pagunsan said he is still feeling the adrenalin rush from his Monday playoff and will look to make amends against a stellar
line-up gathered at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.
He will contend with title holder Padraig Harrington of Ireland, Charlie Wi of Korea, who will bid for a third title in Malaysia, and PGA Tour star Anthony Kim of the United States in the US$2 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
The Filipino, the new Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, will carry his immense confidence to the Iskandar Johor Open as he seeks to cement his position on the summit of the money list this year.
“It was such a good experience and now I’ll be playing with a lot more confidence. My goal is to definitely try and win this week,” said the Pagunsan, who has won once on the Asian Tour in 2007.
“It is fantastic to be playing in my first Asian Tour event as the Order of Merit leader. I’ll try to keep my name on the top,” he added.
He admits feeling more pressured to perform but will draw inspiration from his tied seventh placing in the 2009 Iskandar Johor Open.
“I still feel like I’m in the groove. There’s a bit more pressure now seeing that I’m leading on the Order of Merit but it comes with the job,” said the 33-year-old.
Local hope Ben Leong, winner of the 2008 Selangor Masters, is considering changing to the belly putter in hopes of turning his fortunes around.
The top-60 players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will keep their Asian Tour card for 2012 and Leong, currently in 82nd place, hopes to put in a good result and break into the safety zone.
“I’ve been hitting it good but wasn’t getting the result. Everything wasn’t combining together. I feel it is just a matter of time before the results come. I need to keep believing in myself,” said the 25-year-old.
India’s Himmat Rai will make a welcome return to the Iskandar Johor Open, the event which he is fondly remembered for pushing K.J. Choi to the brink in 2009 before settling for tied third.
Comments
Post a Comment