Rising star Chan raring to go at Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup

golf icon isn 2Osaka, Japan: In-form Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei will be hoping for a memorable debut at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup which tees off from September 22 to 25 next week.

The 30-year-old Chan created headlines when he claimed his breakthrough win on the Asian Tour in Thailand earlier in July. He revelled in the limelight again when he emerged victorious on home soil for the first time this year two weeks ago.

Riding high on confidence, Chan has set himself a target of finishing inside top-10 at the end of the week when he heads to the ¥150,000,000 (approximately US$1.3 million) event staged at the highly acclaimed Ibaraki Country Club in Osaka.

“The game’s feeling good at the moment. I am working on my fitness and keeping up my practices as usual. I am very excited for next week. I hope to do well in Japan. I am aiming for a top-10 finish,” said Chan.

Prior to his victory in Thailand, Chan has plied his trade on the Asian Development Tour, the secondary circuit of the Asian Tour, where he won five titles before regaining his Asian Tour card for the 2016 season at the Qualifying School in January.

“My confidence has soared since I won in Thailand. It was a dream come true. That victory had opened up a lot of opportunities for me. I get to play in bigger tournaments now and I hope to secure more good results in the remainder of the season,” Chan added.

Chan will feature alongside other new winners Thitiphun Chuayprakong of Thailand and Carlos Pigem of Spain, who enjoyed successes in Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei respectively, in the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.

Former Asian Tour Order of Merit champions Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa of India, Filipino Juvic Pagunsan, Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant and China’s Liang Wen-chong will also headline the elite field at the Ibaraki Country Club.

The Asian Tour contingent will face off a strong local challenge spearheaded by Hideto Tanihara, highest ranked Japanese in 75th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Yuta Ikeda, Shingo Katayama and Masahiro Kawamura, who had conquered the Ibaraki Country Club’s West course for his first Asian Tour title three years ago.


The Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup is the Asian Tour’s second stop in Japan this season. The Tour will also be returning to the Ibaraki Country Club for the first time since 2013.