Singapore: India’s Jeev Milkha Singh is ready for his second triumph in Singapore but will have to get the better of the demanding course when the inaugural World Classic Championship at Laguna National starts on Thursday.
Dubbed the ‘Beast’, the 6,935 yards par-71 World Classic course will provide the region’s best players with the sternest test as they vie for top honours at the US$750,000 event.
Singh, a six-time Asian Tour winner, has enjoyed fond memories of his time in Singapore. He won the Singapore Open in 2008 which also played an integral role in seeing him lift the prestigious Order of Merit title that year.
“I always enjoy coming to Singapore. It’s a beautiful country with each visit made even more special with my good results over the years here,” said Singh.
Turning his attention to his title challenge at the World Classic Championship, the Asian Tour honorary member is planning to play a patient game when he tackles the demanding World Classic course.
“I think this is really a beast. You got to play some golf and depending on how the pins are set up this week, there’re not going to be many under-par scores this week.
‘So I think you got to be really patient and have good distance control around this golf course which can be very unforgiving,” said Singh.
Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, a two-time Asian Tour winner, shared Singh’s assessment of the course and agreed that patience would be the key to doing well this week.
“The course conditions are good but you got to have lots of patience. It will be a tough week for everyone including myself!
“I hope the tournament director will be kind enough to move the tees forward on some holes because there’s not going to be lots of spots where we can put the ball onto the green off the tees,” said Prom.
The Thai has enjoyed only one top-10 in Chinese Taipei this year but with his commitment to see out the rest of the year by playing on the Asian Tour, he is hoping to end it on a high note.
“I’m playing alright and I’m looking forward to a good finish like last year where I finished third on the Order of Merit,” said Prom.
As the year comes to a close, Canada’s Richard T. Lee, who is second highest ranked Asian Tour player in the field this week, is determined to embark on a similar run like what he did at the start of the year.
He started the year strongly with top-five finishes in co-sanctioned tournaments with the European Tour in Malaysia and Thailand and has since earned over US$220,000 this season, almost as much as he earned in his first two seasons on the Asian Tour.
“I’m always trying to move forward and chase for that number one spot. I was really pleased that I got into some of the most high profile events on the Asian Tour recently.
I just didn’t putt well in those events but I’m looking forward to this week now. There’s going to be some high scores out there this week. This is definitely one of the most challenging courses in Asia,” said Lee.
