If Irishman Niall Turner needed any incentive to qualify for this year’s British Open then he will be hoping to find it over the next two days in Thailand.
The 27-year old Cork golfer is among just 72 players teeing up on Thursday in the 36-hole International qualifier over two days of the Amata Spring course in Bangkok.
Niall Turner looking to join Darren Clarke in this year's Open Championship. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
It was just over two months ago Darren Clarke the reigning Open Champion competed over the course that hosted the Asian Tour season-ending Thailand Golf Championship.
The Asian Tour based Turner, who is ranked a lowly 964th in the world, is the only Irish player in the field and with the leading three players earning the right to tee up in the company of Clarke in July’s Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes.
Heading the field at Amata Spring Country Club is Singapore’s in-form Mardan Mamat, who claimed victory at the ICTSI Philippine Open earlier this month for his third career Asian Tour title, and is hoping to make a third Open appearance.
The Thailand trio of Chawalit Plaphol, Prom Meesawat and Prayad Marksaeng, who have a combined total of 10 Asian Tour victories between them, will lead the local charge in the two-day, 36-hole, qualifier.
American Ben Fox, India’s Anirban Lahiri, 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.
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 contested the 1997 and 2005 Open Championship, 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.”
