The European Tour moves to Malaysia this week for the Maybank Championship, a tournament that is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour.
REWIND
Marcus Fraser gave a short-game masterclass as he carded a closing 68 to win the inaugural Maybank Championship after a dramatic finish at Royal Selangor Golf Club.
The Australian was two shots behind Soomin Lee as he stood on the 16th tee, but a double-bogey from the South Korean coupled with a nearly-holed chip for Fraser opened the door to his third European Tour title.
A ten-foot clutch putt on the 17th kept the then 37 year old in a share of the lead at 15 under par going up the last, and when Lee double-bogeyed again, par was enough to make Fraser the first winner of the Maybank Championship Tiger Trophy.
That closing double-bogey dropped Lee in to a share of second with Miguel Tabuena at 13 under, a shot clear of Jorge Campillo and Julien Quesne.
THE FIELD
Fraser will return to defend his title as the tournament moves to Saujana Golf and Country Club, where he will be joined by reigning Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett and the 2011 winner of the Green Jacket, Charl Schwartzel.
Willett's Ryder Cup teammate Rafa Cabrera Bello is back for a second appearance at the Maybank Championship, while India's Anirban Lahiri will be aiming for more success in this country after winning the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2015.
Also included in the field is three-time European Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger, who makes his debut at the event having finished as runner-up to Lahiri in his last appearance in Kuala Lumpur in 2015.
The event also offers opportunities to local players, with title sponsors Maybank opening up invitation spots for the top players from five ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam) who would not qualify through their ranking on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Ten Malaysian players will also be included.
THE COURSE
As it's name suggests, the Palm Course at Saujana Golf and Country Club is carved out of an oil palm plantation. A European Tour Destination, the venue has played host to the Malaysian Open on six occasions, with the daunting course boasting rugged terrain with slopes that drop to steep ravines.
Players must negotiate water hazards over seven holes, with numerous bunkers and dense clusters of palms lining the fairways.
The dogleg right first hole on the course dubbed 'The Cobra' is indicative of the challenges ahead. The right side is flanked by a deep, forested ravine, while there are tall palm trees near the green on the left. The approach to the green is uphill with bunkers on both sides, and beyond heavy rough leads to a densely wooded ravine.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Should Marcus Fraser make a successful defence of the Maybank Championship he will become only the second Australian in European Tour history to win the same official European Tour event in back-to-back years. The first was Greg Norman (1981-1982 Dunlop Masters). David Graham did win the 1981 and 1982 Trophée Lancôme, but in 1981 the tournament was a European Tour Approved Special Event and was not considered official.
• Malaysia is where the first co-sanctioned event between the Asian and European Tour took place in 1999 with the Malaysian Open won by Gerry Norquist.
• The Maybank Championship, which began in 2016, was the third different official European Tour event to be staged in Malaysia. The other two were the Malaysian Open (1999-2015) and Iskandar Johor Open (2011).
• Saujana Golf and Country Club is no stranger to hosting European Tour events. The Kuala Lumpur venue hosted the Malaysian Open in 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
• With the inaugural event in 2016, the Maybank Championship became the 18th different European Tour event to have Asian involvement.
• A player with very fond memories of Saujana is Thongchai Jaidee. The Thai claimed the Malaysian Open title at this venue in 2004 and 2005, giving him his first two European Tour titles. As a result of his 2005 triumph, Jaidee became the last player to win his first two official European Tour events in back-to-back years.
• Matteo Manassero won the 2011 Malaysian Open for his second European Tour title, aged 17 years and 363 days. This meant he became the youngest and second youngest to win a European Tour event. His debut win came at the 2010 CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar. He was 17 years and 188 days, meaning he became the Tour’s youngest winner.
