Buoyed by their incredible run of success at last week’s MahaSumutre Masters, a strong Thai contingent will be hoping to scale another summit when they tee it up at the MENA Tour’s Mountain Creek Open by Golf Citizen on Monday.
Spearheaded by winner Jazz Janewattananond, the home players made a strong statement about the rising standard of the game in the kingdom at Banyan Golf Club, racking up four top-10 finishes in addition to a first in the amateur division, and they will look to keep the momentum going through the remainder of the tour’s three-event Thailand swing.
Comprising 21 professionals and two amateurs, including last week’s winner Worathon Zeng, the Thai contingent will join a strong field, studded with 12 winners on the MENA Tour, setting up the prospects of another intriguing battle at the only Seve Ballesteros-designed course in Thailand.
Rising Thai stars … Jazz Janewattananond with Worathon Zeng and Varanyu Rattanaphaibulkij
Notables in the field include Venezuela’s Wolmer Murillo, who defied an afternoon thunderstorm to win the inaugural Mountain Creek Open last year on five under, England’s Zane Scotland, a 10-winner on the MENA Tour, and experienced Andrew Marshall, who currently leads the Order of Merit standings with US$11,077 in earnings.
Thailand-based Murillo, who finished in a four-way tie for third last week, will need to find an extra spring in his game if he aims to step up to the plate and challenge the field for supremacy this year.
Lining up as a potential roadblock will be top-ranked Indian amateur Rayhan Thomas, who shot a brilliant final round 66 to finish runner-up to Murillo last year and he will be keen to get the job this time around and improve upon his tied 28th finish last week.
The Dubai-based Indian prodigy, who is supported by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, will also keep things interesting in the amateur division where he will join Thailand’s Zeng and Brazil’s Tiago Lobo in what is shaping up to be an intense battle among the talented teens.
Further ratcheting up the interest will be Spain’s Leo Lilja, the winner of the tour’s season-opening Palmeraie Country Club Casablanca Open, cricketer-turned-golfer Craig Craig Kieswetter and Czech Republic’s Cyril Suk, a former winner on the tour, who all be hoping to make amends after missing the cut last week.
Widely regarded as one of the toughest in golf courses in Thailand, the Seve-designed layout could provide a grueling test to the field which is represented by 118 players from 24 countries.
Spread over three sections of nine holes — Highland, Creek and Valley — the scenic Mountain Creek course demands a combination of both power and accuracy with the strategic positioning of hazards against the backdrop of a dense forest.
Located near the famous Khao Yai National Park, the course featured in the Asian Golf Monthly magazine’s list of top “10 Best Golf Courses in Thailand’ in 2013.
