Kuala Lumpur: Asian Tour number one Thaworn Wiratchant hopes to turn his golfing fortunes around at the US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open which starts on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has been a happy hunting ground for the 46-year-old Thai star, who has won three times in the country but he has yet to leave an impression at the national Open with more missed cuts than top-10s over the past decade.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, I\u2019m missing the cut here. I don\u2019t like the golf course as it\u2019s too long for my game,\u201d said Thaworn, holder of a record 15 Asian Tour titles, today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game is not feeling good right now. The fairways are playing long because it\u2019s wet and I also feel tired coming into the week. I just have to keep trying and see what comes my way. I find it difficult with the short game. If you miss the greens, it can be difficult,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Thaworn\u2019s best showing in Malaysia\u2019s showpiece event was tied eighth in the 2004 edition. He missed the cut last year and his best outing at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club was tied 25th in 2010.<\/p>\n
Last year, the unorthodox swinging Thai won the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia which was one of three triumphs which led him to a second Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.<\/p>\n
Thaworn will also play in the Masters Tournament, the year\u2019s first Major, at Augusta National next month after receiving a special invitation on the back of his glorious season on the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season in 2013.<\/p>\n
Countryman Chawalit Plaphol, winner of the season-opening Zaykabar Myanmar Open in February, expects t
he Thais to come charging through at the Maybank Malaysian Open and picked the likes of Kiradech Aphibarnrat, fourth at the Avantha Masters in India last week, Prom Meesawat, Chapchai Nirat and Chinnarat Phadungsil as contenders for the title on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cKiradech, Prom, Chapchai, Chinnarat \u2026 they are all the young players coming through now. They will be the ones to watch,\u201d said Chawalit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like this course but it\u2019s going to be tough. The greens are firm which will be a challenge. My game seems to be coming along nicely and I hope to play well this week. You need to hit the irons and putt well which is the key. If you find the deep rough, it can be difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sweet-swinging Chawalit is eyeing the Maybank Malaysian Open title which is co-sanctioned with the European Tour as his four wins have all been at full-field Asian Tour events.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel it is time for me to try to win one of the big ones,\u201d said the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince winning in Myanmar, my game has improved. My confidence has improved which helps with the overall game. We\u2019ll have to deal with the rain this week as you can expect the weather to come in during the afternoons. We\u2019ll need to stay patient.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kuala Lumpur: Asian Tour number one Thaworn Wiratchant hopes to turn his golfing fortunes around at the US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open which starts on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has been a happy hunting ground for the 46-year-old Thai star, who has won three times in the country but he has yet to leave an impression at the national Open with more missed cuts than top-10s over the past decade.<\/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-14002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n