BAE EYES HOME SUCCESS AT KOLON-HANA BANK KOREA OPEN

Seoul, September 30: Local young gun Bae Sang-moon hopes to ride on his rich vein of form for a second home triumph at the Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open which tees off on Thursday.

The 22-year-old Korean will be eyeing the top prize alongside Ryder Cup stars Anthony Kim of the United States and England's Ian Poulter who will both feature in the US$ 1 million event.

Bae will be backed by a strong local charge at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club who include Noh Seung-yul, deaf-born golfer Lee Sung, Kim Kyung-tae, who finished runner-up last year, Hwang Inn-choon and Mo Joong-kyung.

New Zealander Mark Brown, who is the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit leader, will lead the array of Asian Tour stars present in Korea such as former Asian number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand and compatriot Chapchai Nirat, Malaysia’s Ben Leong, who won the Worldwide Selangor Masters in August, Australia’s Rick Kulacz and American Anthony Kang.

But it will be Bae who will be banking on his strength on the greens for a second win on the Asian Tour. He recorded his third top-10 performance at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open last week and is now inspired for a solid showing at the renowned Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.

“My performance in Japan has given me the added confidence. I’m really eager to compete in the Korea Open because I’ve been riding on good form and my putting is nearly perfect now so I hope to continue my momentum at home,” said Bae, who had previously produced top-10 finishes at the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open in February and the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in May.

Bae, who finished in sixth spot last year, enjoyed his breakthrough success on the Asian Tour when he won the 2007 SK Telecom Open and he is currently ranked 17th on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.

In-form Thai Thaworn will be eager to tackle the Perry O. Dye-designed course on the way to a second win this season. The experienced star won the Bangkok Airways Open in June for a record 10th Asian Tour title and followed up his run with four straight top-10 finishes that included a runner-up finish at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

American Kang will be hoping that his steady rise in form this season will help steer him through an improved run from last year when he finished in seventh spot.

“I don’t know what it is but I always pick up momentum in the second half of the year. I hope to continue my good run heading into events like the Korean Open,” said Kang, who posted three top-10 results this year.

INJURY FORCES SINGH TO MISS ASIAN EVENTS

Johor, September 30: World number three Vijay Singh has pulled out of two major tournaments in Asia next month because of a forearm injury.

Tendinitis in Singh’s left forearm will cause him to miss the Iskandar Johor Open from Oct 30-Nov 2 and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai from Nov 6-9.

In a statement issued today, the winner of the 2008 FedEx Cup said that doctors had ordered him to rest to reduce the impact of the injury for the 2009 season.

(Tendinitis is the inflammation, irritation and swelling of the forearm due to overuse, injury (strain or tear) and/or aging of the tendon).

“I am very disappointed to miss the Iskandar Johor Open and the HSBC events as I was looking forward to returning to Asia this fall,” said Singh.

“As disappointing as it will be to miss the tournaments, it is important that I follow my doctor’s instructions and do what is best for my long-term health,” he added.

Singh had won three events in 2008 including the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs to win the second edition of the PGA Tour’s playoff competition. The victories put him in third place in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Meanwhile, Iskandar Johor Open organizing committee chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman wished Singh speedy recovery and hoped he would be able to make it for the 2009 edition.

“We are obviously also very disappointed. But I understand from his manager that his injury is serious and will need two months of rest,” said Ghani, who is also the Johor Chief Minister.

“We wish him speedy recovery and although he will not be able to make it to our shores this year, we hope that he will make it to the Iskandar Johor Open next year,” he added.

Ghani stressed that all preparations for the Iskandar Johor Open were in full swing. “We are looking into the feasibility of engaging another player of equal standing as Singh to sign up for the championship,” he said.

The Iskandar Johor Open, which offers total prize money of US$500,000 (RM1.7 million), has already attracted some of the top Asian professionals and local talents such as Ben Leong and Airil Rizman.