Kuala Lumpur: It is no surprise that the Maybank Malaysian Open holds a special place for many Asian Tour stars.

Through the years, the best players from the region have enjoyed great success in the prestigious event which has subsequently propelled their careers to new heights.

In the last 10 editions of the Malaysian Open, a total of six Asian Tour members - Thongchai Jaidee, Noh Seung-yul, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Arjun Atwal, Charlie Wi and Anthony Kang – have emerged victorious.

Thongchai, Noh and Kiradech also used their success in the Malaysian Open to claim the prestigious Asian Tour Order of Merit crown. Noh, the youngest ever Asian number one, is now playing regularly on the PGA Tour while Thongchai and Kiradech continue to enjoy great success in Asia and Europe.

The Thai duo were also key figures in the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM as they were part of Team Asia who shared the trophy with Europe after battling back from an opening round 0-5 loss in the fourball session.

Thongchai and Kiradech have always hailed Malaysia as their ‘second home’ thanks largely to the warm support that they enjoy from the local fans.

“Every time I play here, I feel like I’m home. I guess it is due to the weather and a lot of fans follow me and are cheering for me. That gives me a lot of power to play in this country. I love to come here and I always look forward to playing here,” said Kiradech, who will defend his Maybank Malaysian Open title next week at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

The 2014 Maybank Malaysian Open is poised to be another exciting week as former champions Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Matteo Manassero will headline the event alongside EurAsia Cup Team Asia heroes Anirban Lahiri, Siddikur Rahman and Prayad Marksaeng.

Through the strong support of the Malaysian government and dedicated sponsors such as Maybank, the Asian Tour has now staged a total of 28 tournaments in the country worth in excess of US$50 million in total prize money since 2004.

Other important tournaments such as the Qualifying School, World Cup Qualifying and British Open Qualifier have also been hosted in Malaysia in the past which have been instrumental in growing the sport in the country.

In addition to the Asian Tour events, the Asian Development Tour (ADT), which was afforded with Official World Golf Ranking status in 2013, has staged 33 tournaments in Malaysia since 2010 through a successful partnership with the PGM Tour, helmed by the enterprising Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid.

The bespectacled Nicholas Fung won the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit last season and enjoyed a career high on the Asian Tour when he finished 36th on the Merit list courtesy of two top-five results.


He was a captain’s pick in the EurAsia Cup where he put on a battling performance in the singles where he lost by 1-Hole to European captain Miguel Angel Jimenez who birdied 18.

The experience of playing alongside many of the best players in the world has given the young Malaysian hope of becoming the first local to win his National Open.

“It’ll be nice to become the first Malaysian winner but it will be a tough challenge. However, all it takes is one good week … anything can happen in golf,” said the 23-year-old Fung.

“I’ve never made the cut at the Malaysian Open, so that would be the first target to try and get into the weekend. As an amateur, I have always wanted to play in the Malaysian Open but the challenge for us is to try to win the tournament,” he added.

Thongchai, a double Malaysian Open winner, always enjoys competing in the country and his success as Asian captain in the EurAsia Cup will certainly earn him more fans support when he tees up here next week.

After making the halfway cut at the Masters Tournament on Friday, Thongchai will be hoping to land a third Maybank Malaysian Open win. “Malaysia is like my second home. I always enjoy coming here to play golf and I always get good support from the fans,” said the three-time Asian Tour number one.