Asians ready to outshine the Americans at the CIMB Classic
Gaganjeet Bhullar and David Lipsky hope that the Asian contenders have the ability to outperform their PGA Tour rivals this year at the CIMB Classic, slated to start from Thursday, October 25, 2012.
The third edition of the tournament will be played at The Mines Resort and Golf Club, featuring some of the best players from the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour.
The US$6.1 million will feature a total of 30 PGA Tour Players and 10 Asian Tour players. Other than that, eight players will be making their appearance through sponsor exemptions.
Americans Ben Crane and Bo Van Pelt won the first two editions of the tournament in Kuala Lumpur. The Asians now believe that the time has come for the local players to bring the trophy home.
During an interview on Tuesday, Lipsky was asked whether the Asian players have any chance of a victory this week. He replied, “Oh, yeah, no doubt”.
“I know the guys I play against week in and week out … they have the game to shoot 20 under, 25 under here that it took last year,” he said.
“Thaworn (Wiratchant) is playing really well and Marcus (Fraser) is playing well too. So I wouldn't be surprised if one of those guys won this week”.
Bhullar, in the meantime, is also relishing the opportunity of playing against some of the best American players, especially the 14-time major champion Tiger Woods.
Talking about Woods, he stated that the world number two is no doubt the best player the game of golf has ever produced.
Therefore, his commitment to participate in the tournament will give a huge boost to the promotion of the game in the region.
Besides that, he also expects the Asian players to shine, as the top-10 players in the Order of Merit will be featured in the field this week.
“Obviously we have 10 top players from the Asian Tour this week. It could be anybody's week, especially playing on Asian soil,” he said. “It's a benefit for Asian Tour players because we have been playing in this kind of conditions for the last few years”.
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