Manila: Chinese Taipei veteran Lin Wen-tang will be targeting a second win in the Philippines this season when he returns there in a fortnight for the inaugural Resorts World Manila Masters.
The US$750,000 event will be played at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club from November 14-17 and will feature leading players from the Philippines as well as an international mix of players from over 22 countries.
Lin will join the strong line-up of players which include reigning Order of Merit champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Liang Wen-chong of China in vying for top honours at the Resorts World Manila Masters.
The 39-year-old, who won in the Philippines in April this year, is determined to prove his worth again as he seeks to win his seventh title on the region’s premier Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season this year.
“Before my win in April, I never had good memories of the Philippines. I missed out on my first win in the Philippines back in 2008 and I never played much in the country since then. Winning in April definitely makes me like the country more,” said Lin.
“I’m really excited to go back to the Philippines again. It’s good to see new events coming on board the Asian Tour. I hope this tournament can continue to grow in future,” added Lin.
Since ending a four-year winless streak in the Philippines, Lin has rediscovered the art of winning.
“I try not to push myself too hard these days and not think so much about winning. I kind of changed my mindset these few years. I used to get so much pressure in the past trying to win tournaments. But now, I just want to enjoy my game,” said Lin.
“I played with Tseng Yani recently and it seems like she’s feeling the same way too. Both of us felt that we should not be bound by tournaments. We should be enjoying the game instead,” added Lin, who is like a big brother to Tseng, a former world number one female golfer from Chinese Taipei.
Apart from Tseng, Lin has also been giving valuable advice to budding young players from Chinese Taipei.
“I always remind myself that I’m playing for myself, not others. You won’t feel so stressed when you play for yourself. This is what I’ve been telling Tseng and the younger players here. It will be good if I can win again in the Philippines but I will not put so much pressure on myself,” said Lin.
Filipino duo Angelo Que and Antonio Lascuna will spearhead the local charge and take aim at putting on a good show before heading to Australia to represent the Philippines at the ISPS Handa World Cup of golf.
To further develop the game of golf in the Philippines, 30 spots will be given to players from the ever-growing Philippines Golf Tour (PGT) to compete against the region’s best at the Resorts World Manila Masters.
As the sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour believes that partnering the PGT is important to help grow the game domestically, especially in view of golf returning into the Olympics programme in 2016.
