Asian golf stars hopeful for Singapore Open success

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It will be two years in January since K.J. Choi's last TOUR win, but his Asian Tour victory last week has given him a boost.

SINGAPORE -- Korean star K.J. Choi has a new spring in his step coming into the Barclays Singapore Open, which he hopes will propel him to back-to-back victories.

The U.S.-based Choi triumphed at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia last week, which ended a frustrating 18-month winless spell. With his confidence back, he is gunning for more glory at what will be his last tournament of the year.

"Obviously, my confidence level is up after the win last week. I played in the pro-am today, and I feel my shots are there at the moment, and I feel good. I also received a lot of support from the fans, and I have a lot of expectations," said Choi, who is an Asian Tour honorary member.

Choi will certainly need to be at his best form at Sentosa Golf Club as this week's $5 million showpiece has attracted a stellar field, including world No. 2 Phil Mickelson and major champions Michael Campbell, Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. Els and Harrington tied for second last year.

A total of 118 winners will be on parade in Asia's richest national Open, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour for the first time.

Choi, the first Asian Tour graduate to enjoy success on the PGA TOUR with seven victories, credited his revival in Malaysia to his improved putting. He hopes to continue to improve on his tie for 14th at the Barclays Singapore Open in 2007. He missed the cut by one stroke last year.

"This year it (the course) is really superb. It's in perfect condition for the tournament, and that's why I have better expectations compared to the past few years," Choi said .

"This course has tight fairways, so tee shots will be very important. Reading the greens will be very important as there are some double greens, like an 'S.'"

Choi knows this is his last chance to force his way back into the world's top 50, although he says it is not a priority. "Numbers don't really mean a lot to me at this point. I'm not thinking of that right now. What's important is gaining my confidence back, which I did by winning last week. At this point, I'm trying to prepare myself for next season. I'm going to work very hard for next year," said Choi, whose victory last week pushed him up to 73rd in the world.

Long billed as the Asian most likely to win the region's first major, Choi was happy that compatriot Y.E. Yang achieved the historic feat at the PGA Championship in August and insists that it has given him added motivation to win a major.

"I've been saying for the past five years that an Asian can win a major, and it became a reality. And now (Yang) has motivated me to attain my own dream of winning a major. Previously, it was always asked 'can we do it?' But now we've shown that we can. It has given me a sense of confidence to strive for a major win."

Big-hitting Thai star Chapchai Nirat hopes to fire himself into contention again this week after leading into last year's final round. A win will also secure him a place in next week's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

"Last year, I was leading, but I didn't perform on Sunday. I got a bit nervous (playing with Phil Mickelson) and didn't play my usual golf. I think I got too quick with my game," said Chapchai, who won the SAIL Open in India with a world-record, 32-under-256 total earlier this season.

"If I have a chance to contend again this year, I'll know what to do. I've learned from last year's experience."

After his triumph in India, Chapchai's form dipped, but he produced a second-place finish in Malaysia last weekend. "I always enjoy playing at Sentosa Golf Club. It's a challenging golf course, and you need to be on top of your game to shoot a good round there," said Chapchai.

"I somehow seem to play some good golf in the tournament, and I'm looking forward to it again."