Michael Campbell, the 2005 US Open Champion, Ryder Cup players Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, and Asia’s 2006 Order of Merit winner, Jeev Milkha Singh, spearhead a powerful line-up for the Maybank Malaysian Open, which returns to Saujana Golf and Country Club for the fifth time.
Two-time winner Thongchai Jaidee, former Asian Tour Number One Jyoti Randhawa of India, and Dane Thomas Björn, who will be chasing his tenth European Tour title, are also in a strong field for the event jointly sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour.
New Zealand’s Campbell joined the game’s elite with his Major Championship victory in the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst and has been a regular visitor to Malaysia over the years, his best finish being joint seventh in 2001.
Westwood further embellished his magnificent Ryder Cup record in 2006 when, for the second successive time, he remained unbeaten in all five matches. Having claimed 4 1/2 points of a possible five in The 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills, the Englishman duly delivered again at The K Club last September with a haul of four points from five (three wins and two halved matches).
The Englishman returns to Saujana G&CC where he won in 1997 in what was one of his earliest professional victories.
“I am looking forward to returning to Malaysia which has always been a favourite place of mine, and to compete in the National Open is very exciting especially as the host venue is Saujana G & CC, which I know is a very challenging course” said Westwood.
Westwood’s partner at The K Club, Clarke, was also unbeaten in winning a maximum three points amid emotional scenes in Ireland as Europe won by a record-equalling 18 ½ to 9 ½ points. It was the first time Europe had won three successive Ryder Cup matches.
Clarke is playing in the event for the first time since 1999, the year that the Maybank Malaysian Open became part of The European Tour International Schedule as the first co-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour.
Jaidee is a proven specialist over the Cobra course having won the title on the last two visits to Saujana. In 2004, he became the first Thai golfer to win a European Tour event when he captured the title – a feat so significant the Thai Government presented him with a diplomatic passport.
The following year, he repeated the victory, making him the first Asian to retain a European Tour title. Towards the end of 2006 he returned to winning ways in the Volvo Masters of Asia.
Singh will also be a player to watch following a remarkable rise up the Official World Golf Rankings. The accomplished Indian claimed four victories worldwide, including both the Volvo China Open and the Volvo Masters on The European Tour, as he climbed into the top 40 in the world and topped the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit.
