International Final Qualifying (IFQ) Asia gets underway this Thursday with the continent’s best golfers vying with an international field for four places at this year’s Open Championship.
Among the 72-man field at Amata Spring Country Club will be Singapore’s in-form Mardan Mamat, who claimed victory at the ICTSI Philippine Open earlier this month for his third career Asian Tour title, hoping to make a third Open Championship appearance at Royal Lytham & St Annes this July.
Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol, Prom Meesawat and Prayad Marksaeng, who have a combined total of ten Asian Tour victories between them, will lead the local charge in the two-day, 36-hole qualifier.
Ben Fox of the United States, Anirban Lahiri of India, who won the SAIL-SBI Open on home soil last week, Scott Hend of Australia and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh will also feature.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who makes the field thanks to last year’s successful defence of his Asian Amateur Championship title, will be bidding for his first appearance at The Open Championship.
Matsuyama, who became the first Asian golfer to win the Silver Cup for low amateur at the 2011 Masters Tournament, is joined by Asian Amateur Championship runner-up Lee Soo-min of South Korea.
Mamat, who made two appearances in The Open Championship in 1997 and 2005, said: “I’ve played twice in The Open and had very good experiences there. It is one of the Major tournaments that all professional golfers love to play in including myself.”
He believes the Amata Spring course, known for its signature par-three 17th which has an island green, will provide a stern challenge this week.
“I haven’t played well at Amata Spring yet. It is a good course to play on with very strong finishing holes. I’m looking forward to two good rounds,” added the 44 year old, who holds the distinction of being the first Singaporean to play in The Open Championship.
Meesawat, winner of IFQ Asia last year, is hoping to make a swift return to The Open Championship and will be buoyed by his recent form, which has seen him rise to third place on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.
He said the experience has helped him bounce back from an injury which curtailed his progress from 2009 to 2010.
Meesawat added: “The crowds at The Open were huge and that has helped me ease the pressure when playing on the last three events on the Asian Tour. I don’t feel so nervous anymore and that is one of the positives I took back from last year. I also learnt how to play in windy conditions which is always good when playing in Asia.”
Challenge Tour champion Gaganjeet Bhullar, highly regarded as being in the new generation of golfing stars to emerge from India, has fond memories at IFQ Asia where he earned his debut at The Open Championship.
“The IFQ played a very important role in my career. I played in my first IFQ in 2009 and it was very special to me. It would be nice if I can go out there and qualify for The Open again,” said Bhullar, who won his first Asian Tour title straight after making his debut at The Open in 2009.
It has been a career of many firsts for Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman and he hopes to add another by representing his country in The Open Championship.
He was the first Bangladeshi to play and win on the Asian Tour and is looking to become the first from his country to play in a Major championship.
The 27-year-old, who started golfing with a makeshift seven iron tied to a metal rod, said: “I was here last year. I remember shooting six under par in the first round and didn’t do so well on the second day. I’ll definitely aim to finish the job this time around.”
