Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia: Local hope Arie Fauzi will rely on valuable lessons learnt from the Asian Tour Qualifying School when he searches for success at the PGM Lada Langkawi Masters on Thursday.
The highly rated Malaysian will be among a talented cast assembled at the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) event which is sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.
Arie, who turned professional three weeks ago, said he is prepared for the challenge in the play-for-pay ranks after missing the chance to earn an Asian Tour card at Qualifying School in Thailand in January when he shot a final round 78.
“After that experience I learnt how important it is to stay patient and that golf doesn’t reward you all the time. There are negative and positives because you don’t know what to expect. Anything can happen in golf,” said the 2008 Malaysian Amateur Stroke Play Championship winner.
“The most important thing for me is to believe in myself and play to my best ability. If I can do that, then I’m quite confident that I can score. Honestly, I have no goals this week. I just want to stay in the present and not get ahead of myself.”
Arie, who played college golf for four years in the United States, will make his first appearance on the ADT as a professional at the Gunung Raya Golf Resort. He played at the season-opening PGM-CCM Rahman Putra Masters as an amateur but missed the halfway cut.
“The ADT is another chance to make it into the Qualifying School Final Stage or even to earn an Asian Tour card (with a top-three finish on the Order of Merit). It is good that the PGM has a lot of co-sanction events with the ADT because I believe Malaysians have a slight advantage as it is easier to travel around. The ADT is a good stepping stone for young players,” he said.
The 22-year-old believes the humidity and steamy conditions will play a crucial part to determine the winner of this week’s ADT event, which is staged for the first time on the beautiful holiday-isle of Langkawi.
“The course condition is really nice. The challenge here will be the heat and the walking because it is quite hilly. Langkawi is a really nice place to be in. The scenery here is great. I feel that I’m ready for the challenge.”
James Bowen of the United States, the current ADT Order of Merit leader, Grant Jackson of England, who won his first ADT title two weeks, and former Walker Cup star James Byrne of Scotland will headline the event
The Malaysian challenge will be spearheaded by Shaaban Hussin, Iain Steel, S. Murthy and 2010 ADT Order of Merit winner S. Siva Chandhran.
The top three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn an Asian Tour card for 2014. The ADT also offers Official World Golf Ranking points, which will be used to select players for the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro in 2016.
