Malaysia’s Ben Leong will be banking on home-ground advantage when he tees off in the inaugural Sabah Masters, which gets underway at Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Sabahan, who enjoyed a tied-sixth place finish in Thailand a fortnight ago, hopes to capitalise on his recent fine form and put up a strong performance on home soil at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Placed 56th on the latest Order of Merit, Leong will also be aiming for a good showing to boost his ranking on the money list and keep himself within the top-60 to retain playing rights on for the 2020 season.
“It’s nice to be playing on home soil … I can sleep on my own bed! Definitely higher expectations for me but I’ll just take it as if I am playing elsewhere. I’ll just go out there and have fun and focus on the process,” said Leong, who won the 2008 Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters for his first and only Asian Tour title so far.
“It’s good to find some good form recently. I haven’t been working on anything specific but I guess it’s just about peaking at the right time.
“I am looking forward to this week and the rest of the year. Definitely, I’m hoping to win again. That’s always my goal but I try not to get ahead of myself,” he added.
Leong noted that the seaside Sutera Harbour course was in good shape. “The course is looking great. They are doing a good job with the fairways and greens, so am looking forward to the week.
“It’s a tough golf course. The layout is pretty straightforward but the greens are tough and tricky. The fairways are pretty tight and it will be difficult around the greens,” he said.
Leong, the only Malaysian to win an Asian Tour event on home soil, will spearhead the local challenge along with big-hitting Amir Nazrin, Daeng Rahman and Shahriffuddin Ariffin at the event supported by the Tourism Malaysia. The Asian Tour last visited Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah state, for its Qualifying School at multiple locations in December 2007 when Leong topped the class for the second straight year.
Korea’s Yikeun Chang and newly minted winner Joohyung Kim will also feature in the Sabah Masters alongside Indonesia’s Rory Hie, Thailand’s Danthai Boonma and Pavit Tangkamolprasert, all proven champions on the Asian Tour.
