Samui, Thailand: Defending champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand believes the prospect of playing for the Queen’s honour will spur him to do well when the Queen’s Cup returns for its fifth edition at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in Koh Samui from June 13 to 16.

Thaworn’s victory at the Queen’s Cup last year sparked a magnificent record-breaking season where he won two other tournaments and subsequently became the oldest Asian Tour number one.

“It’s always an honour for me to play in the Queen’s Cup. I always make it a point to fit that event into my hectic schedule,”said the 46-year-old.

Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Queen’s Cup is held in honour of Her Majesty, Queen Sirikit and is one of four tournaments in Thailand to feature on the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season in 2013.

Since winning the coveted Merit crown, Thaworn has been the ambassador for the Asian Tour all around the world.

The Thai ace made an impression at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship in the United States in March shooting early rounds of 69s to feature on the leaderboard before slipping back to tied 53rd position over the weekend.

Thaworn also received an invitation to play at the Masters Tournament courtesy of his merit win on the Asian Tour.

While he has plied his trade across the globe, it is the homecoming event at Queen’s Cup which gets him excited and psyched up for.

“Besides the prestige, the Queen’s Cup also gives me the opportunity to play at home and in front of the local crowd. It’s always a good feeling to return to defend your title and I’m looking forward to the strong challenge again,” said Thaworn.

Compatriot Chinnarat Phadungsil, who became the youngest winner on the Asian Tour when he won his first title on home soil in 2005 at the age of 17 years and five days, will also return to the Queen’s Cup for another shot at winning his fourth title on the region’s premier Tour.

Since staking his place in the history books eight years ago, Chinnarat has continued to create headlines with his performances on the golf course.

He started the season strongly especially in India where he was only one shot away from equalling the Asian Tour’s low 18-hole score record after firing an opening 61 at the Avantha Masters in March.

The Thai’s last win on the Asian Tour came at the Queen’s Cup in 2009 and he will be looking for a repeat again.

“It has been a long time since I last won. I’ve been in contention on several occasions this season and I just couldn’t finish it off the way that I had wanted to. But I’ll keep pressing on and hopefully I’ll be able to win again,” said Chinnarat.

Chinnarat will also be banking on home comfort as he seeks to end his four-year title drought.

“I like playing at home as it gives me the opportunity to play in front of familiar surroundings. It’s going to be exciting at the Queen’s Cup for me,” said Chinnarat.

Other Asian Tour stars expected to mount a strong challenge for the Queen’s Cup include Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, India’s Jyoti Randahawa, an eight-time Asian Tour winner and Malaysia’s Danny Chia.

The Queen’s Cup is sponsored by Bangkok Airways, Sport Authority of Thailand (SAT) and Santiburi Samui Country Club.