Taipei: After enjoying successful exploits in the United States, young talent Cameron Smith will make a return to Asia for the US$650,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which starts on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old Australian will headline an international cast of players from 22 countries, who include Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, local hotshots Chan Shih-chang and Pan Cheng-tsung, Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant and Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines, at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club’s Tamsui course.<\/p>\n
Smith was crowned the Rookie of the Year last season after finishing fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit thanks to seven top-10s. He made a name for himself with an impressive tied-fourth finish in his US Open debut earlier in June and earned a spot in the PGA Championship two months later where he came in tied-25th.<\/p>\n
“I had a great experience at the US Open. It was a dream finish for me. Playing on the Asian Tour last year has helped a lot as I was able to get into the moment and just do my own thing out there.<\/p>\n
“The course is looking good. I thought it held up pretty good after being swept by Typhoon Dujuan on Monday. I was just trying to play my best out there last year. I hope to do the same this time round,” said the young Australian, who enjoyed a tied-sixth finish in the event last year.<\/p>\n
Fresh from a well-deserved rest back home in Queensland, Smith will continue his chase for a maiden Asian Tour win and boost his chances of qualifying for next month’s CIMB Classic by remaining inside top-10 on the Merit rankings.<\/p>\n
“I did nothing at all during the break. I was just lying at home and going to the gym as usual. That’s about it. It’s nice to be back, especially after a great season last year. It’s good to see the guys out here again and catch up with them. Hopefully a good result this week will boost my chances of qualifying for the CIMB Classic,” added Smith.<\/p>\n
Like Smith, Mardan is also hoping for a good showing at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters to help him break into top-10 on the Merit rankings to qualify for the prestigious CIMB Classic.<\/p>\n
“Obviously, my main objective is to try and qualify for the CIMB Classic. But I believe as long as I play well, the results will come. I will take it one tournament at a time. I am just one rung away from qualifying right now so I will definitely try and do my best. Every week counts from now,” said the 47-year-old Singaporean, ranked 11th on the Order of Merit.<\/p>\n
Local prospect Chan kept up his hopes of recapturing the trophy on home soil. “I definitely hope a local player can win this week. I haven’t played really well in this tournament before but I have shot a 63 on this course in a local tournament before so I hope I can do that again this week.”<\/p>\n
“I thought the local field is pretty strong, especially with Pan Cheng-tsung making his home debut. We also have veteran Lu Wen-teh who has won the tournament four times in total. I think we have pretty good chances this week,” added the 28-year-old Chan, who holds a record five wins on the Asian Development Tour.<\/p>\n
Pan, who sensationally won two titles in Canada over a span of three months after turning professional in June, will make a highly-anticipated home debut this week. “This is my first event as a professional at home and also my first event in nine years playing in front of the home crowd. I am really looking forward to it,” said the 23-year-old Pan.<\/p>\n
Other notable players include China’s Liang Wen-chong, Prom Meesawat of Thailand, Filipino Angelo Que, Indian duo Arjun Atwal and Rahil Gangjee, as well as local prospects Lu Wei-chih, Lu Wen-teh, Lin Wen-tang and Hsieh Chi-hsien.<\/p>\n
Players will be vying for good showings at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters to boost their chances of qualifying for the prestigious CIMB Classic and WGC-HSBC Champions.<\/p>\n
As of October 26, the leading four golfers from the Order of Merit will earn starting places in the US$8.5 million HSBC Champions in November while the leading 10 players will qualify for the US$7 million CIMB Classic at the end of October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taipei: After enjoying successful exploits in the United States, young talent Cameron Smith will make a return to Asia for the US$650,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which starts on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old Australian will headline an international cast of players from 22 countries, who include Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, local hotshots Chan Shih-chang and Pan Cheng-tsung, Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant and Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines, at the challenging Taiwan Golf and Country Club’s Tamsui course.<\/p>\n
Smith was crowned the Rookie of the Year last season after finishing fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit thanks to seven top-10s. He made a name for himself with an impressive tied-fourth finish in his US Open debut earlier in June and earned a spot in the PGA Championship two months later where he came in tied-25th.<\/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-23366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n