Jbe Kruger aims to soar at the Thailand Golf Championship
Jbe Kruger has set his sights on making a final charge on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with a strong performance at this week’s Thailand Golf Championship.
The tournament will be staged at the Amata Spring Country Club, and is the second-last event on the 2012 Asian Tour roster.
With only two events left in this season, Kruger desperately needs strong finishes, in a bid to become the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion for the first time in his career.
Currently holding the third place in the money list with US$453,588, courtesy of his victory at the Avantha Masters in India in February, Kruger expects a tough challenge against a stellar field of the US$1 million event.
He currently trails the leader Thaworn Wiratchant by US$216918 – Wiratchant has won three Asian Tour events this season, to pocket US$670,506 as prize money.
Talking to the Asian Tour’s official website, Kruger stated that his chances of making it to the top of the Order of Merit depend on his final position on the leaderboard, at the end of the week.
He said that if he succeeds in making a strong move in the standings, at the end of the Thailand Golf Championship, he will then try his best to perform well in the season-ending Iskandar Johor Open.
“There’s a bit of pressure playing this week. If I play well this week then I will play in Johor and try to win it (Order of Merit). It has been an up-and-down season. If you would have told me I would perform this way earlier in the season, I would have
taken it but it hasn’t been great,” said the South African.
He also told that his experience of being paired with the 14-time major champion Tiger Woods, at the CIMB Classic in October, gave him confidence, which will help him contend strongly in this week’s tournament.
“I played with Tiger and Westwood before. It is fun to play with guys like that. It gives me the confidence that I can play at a top level and beat these guys on the course,” said Kruger.
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