Sweden’s Niclas Fasth is hoping to get his season back on track during this week’s OSIM Singapore Masters at Laguna National Golf and Country Club as he looks to build on the form that earned him two titles last season.
As the highest ranked player in the field at 57th in the Official World Golf Ranking, Fasth starts the week as one of the favourites but after a disappointing last outing in the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play, where he lost to Colin Montgomerie on the 23rd hole in an untidy first round clash, the Swede is out to put things right.
“The match play was a huge disappointment,” said Fasth. “That hurt a bit. I played very badly and was disappointed in myself. You can lose but I wasn’t happy with that.
“My coach was over in England last week so we did some practice to just get back on track again. I was playing well in the Gulf and it was only the putting that needed to get up to speed and I think it has. I am back on track again and think I am playing well.”
Fasth won twice last season, firstly in the Holden New Zealand Open in February and then again in the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe in July, securing both titles in play-offs.
But despite the two wins, the Ryder Cup player felt he lacked consistency during the year and aims to put that right during 2006 as he pushes for a second Ryder Cup cap this September.
“You would take any season with two wins,” he said. “That was fantastic. But I really felt I was fiddling around getting my game up and ready most of the year. So I didn’t feel I did myself justice in most of the events. In spite of two wins I had relatively few top positions and I wasn’t too happy about that.
“I spent my time doing things last year and have built a strong game. It is starting to loosen up and fall into place. I am expecting to play better this year.”
England’s Paul Broadhurst is another of the pre-tournament favourites as the second highest player in the field at 64 in the world and is targeting a place in the top 50 over the next four weeks to earn a place in the Masters Tournament field at Augusta National.
A runners-up finish in Qatar secured a place in the World’s top 64 and eligibility for the WGC – Accenture Match Play, and now he is hoping for a similar return over the next few weeks to secure a Masters debut at the age of 40.
“I have four events before the Masters,” said Broadhurst. “I need some high finishes in those four events if I am to have any chance of getting on the top 50 and the Masters. That is the aim. The goal at the start of the season was to get into the top 64 and I had three events in the Middle East to achieve that. I did it by finishing second in Qatar. A finish something like that may get me in the Masters.”
But first Broadhurst needs to overcome the heat and humidity in Singapore. It is not so much the draining effect of the heat that is the problem, but more the fact that he struggles to grip the club as his hands swell and sweat.
“I find it difficult just gripping the club as your hands feel a lot bigger on the golf club,” he commented. “It doesn’t matter how lightly you grip it, it still feels like you are choking the club to death. That is something I have to work on.”
Dougherty is defending the title he won in style last year when he held off the challenges of Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Björn down the stretch to claim hiss first European Tour victory.
After a strong start to the season he lies in seventh place in the Order of Merit and returns to action refreshed after a three-week break during which he has moved house and enjoyed some welcome R&R.
“I have had a good start to the year but I am almost a little disappointed with the results I have had,” he said. “In Dubai I felt I had a great chance to win there and finished five behind after playing poorly for half the tournament. Since then I have had three weeks off, which is the most I have had off in my professional career. But my game feels solid and I am certainly looking forward to it so feel I am as well prepared as I could be. I think to win, you have to play world class golf and if I want to win this year I have to play certainly as well as last year if not better.”
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, the fourth highest ranked player in the field heads the Asian challenge in the event co-sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour. After coming second and third in his last two outings in Malaysia and Indonesia respectively, Jaidee has shown his game is in tune as he attempts to win a third joint sanctioned event.
“I have been playing very well in the last two weeks in KL and Jakarta and have been very close both times,” said the Thai. “I hope to continue the good run this week."
