{"id":12247,"date":"2012-12-11T09:55:20","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T09:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=12247"},"modified":"2012-12-11T09:55:20","modified_gmt":"2012-12-11T09:55:20","slug":"fraser-ready-for-epic-showdown-at-iskandar-johor-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/?p=12247","title":{"rendered":"Fraser ready for epic showdown at Iskandar Johor Open"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia<\/strong>: Australia\u2019s Marcus Fraser is ready to put up a strong challenge and become the first Australian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title when the US$2million Iskandar Johor Open tees off on Thursday.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>Fraser, who is second on the rankings, trails Thailand\u2019s Thaworn Wiratchant by slightly over US$25,000, and is expecting the merit race to go down the wire at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.<br \/>\n<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cIt\u2019s a fairly close fight between Thaworn and myself but there\u2019re still probably four or five guys out there who still have a chance of winning the Order of Merit. It\u2019s going to be a pretty exciting week for sure,\u201d said Fraser.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>After enjoying four top-five finishes on the Asian Tour this season, Fraser is setting his sights on wrapping up a sensational season with a win at the Iskandar Johor Open.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cIt\u2019ll be a huge achievement if I become the first Australian to win the Order of Merit title. I love playing in Asia and I\u2019ve got lots of good friends that play on the Asian Tour. It\u2019s good fun coming up to these events and to be able to have the chance of possibly win the Order of Merit this week is something that I look forward to,\u201d said the 34-year-old Australian.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>South Africa\u2019s Jbe Kruger could have narrowed the gap at the top with a good finish at the Thailand Golf Championship last week but was left disappointed after he closed with a 75 to finish tied-28th.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cIt was unfortunate that I didn\u2019t get the result that I wanted last week,\u201d said Kruger of his performance at the Thailand Golf Championship which earned the highest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points anywhere around the world, surpassing the Australian Open and Nelson Mandela Championship last week.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>Kruger, who is currently lying in third place on the Order of Merit, however believes he still has a chance to pip Thaworn and Fraser to the prestigious crown.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cI\u2019ll have to win this week in order to win the Order of Merit. But it\u2019s definitely not out of my hands as I still have a chance. There will be pressure, no doubt and I just have to learn to manage it to the best of my abilities,\u201d said Kruger.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cI\u2019ve been knocking on the doors for a couple of seasons and it was nice to finally win in India (Avantha Masters). As I said after my win then, I want to win again and that\u2019s the goal that I\u2019ve been working towards,\u201d added Kruger.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>With the presence of Major champions like Ernie Els, Michael Campbell and John Daly teeing up at the Asian Tour\u2019s season-ending event, Kruger is confident that he can stand tall against anyone of the them.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cI\u2019ve proven that I can match up against the best players. I\u2019ve very good self-belief and I can beat anybody on my day,\u201d said Kruger.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>India\u2019s Gaganjeet Bhullar is also determined to win the Order of Merit title as he knows a win will unlock the doors for the next generation of golfers to emerge from India.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cIf I go on to win the Order of Merit, how many more Indians you think will go on to take up golf. It was what Jeev used to do 10 years ago when I was a little kid and I used to follow him. Now the next generation of golfers from India will be getting ready,\u201d said Bhullar.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>India holds the distinction of having produced the most number of Merit champions with Jyoti Randhawa became the country\u2019s first Asian number one in 2002 followed by Arjun Atwal in 2003 before Jeev Milkha Singh secured a double with wins in 2006 and 2008.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>It is a proud record that Bhullar hopes to add his name to.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>\u201cMy confidence level has definitely gone up and I think once I get off to a good start, it\u2019ll be hard for anyone to catch up with me,\u201d said Bhullar<\/p>\n<p><strong>By Indian Sports News Network<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia<\/strong>: Australia\u2019s Marcus Fraser is ready to put up a strong challenge and become the first Australian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title when the US$2million Iskandar Johor Open tees off on Thursday.<br \/>&nbsp;<br \/>Fraser, who is second on the rankings, trails Thailand\u2019s Thaworn Wiratchant by slightly over US$25,000, and is expecting the merit race to go down the wire at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fraser ready for epic showdown at Iskandar Johor Open - IndianSportsNews.com - Latest Updated Sports News &amp; 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