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Kuala Lumpur, March 3
SHAABAN AND AIRIL READY FOR MAYBANK MALAYSIAN OPEN CHALLENGE
Malaysia's Shaaban Hussin plans to enjoy a strong outing at the US$2 million Maybank Malaysian Open starting on Thursday to get his Asian Tour season back on track.
Shaaban, who earned his Asian Tour card after finishing 65th on the Order of Merit last season, will face a strong line-up of stars from the Asian Tour and European Tour at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
"I feel a lot different after earning my Tour card last year. Many of my friends are struggling to earn their cards whereas I have the opportunity to better my rankings on the Asian Tour. My aim is to break into the top-40 or better this season," said the 29-year-old.
Just like his fellow compatriots, Shaaban has constantly been reminded of the fact that no Malaysian has ever won the national Open since the event inauguration in 1962. He believes it's not for the lack of trying although they will have to beat a field which includes Korean star K.J. Choi, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and title holder Anthony Kang of the United States.
"This year is no different. Every Malaysian wants to win the Malaysian Open and all of us are giving it our best," said Shaaban, who missed the cut in the season-opening Asian Tour International in Bangkok.
"Even though we have yet to win the tournament, we have taken a lot of experience playing in it and that helps to improve our games."
The former Malaysian amateur number one capped an impressive performance last season which was highlighted by a tied ninth finish in Brunei and he came close to winning his maiden Asian Tour title before settling for second place in Cambodia.
After last year's high, he believes he has more experience to legitimately challenge for titles in Asia.
"There is no pressure on me playing in the Maybank Malaysian Open. I always tell myself that if I get pressure playing in my own national Open then it would be even worse if I were to play in the US Masters or the US Open. I will treat this week like any other tournament and do my best," said Shaaban.
Airil, who claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory in 2007, will also be looking to carry the Malaysian flag. He failed to retain his Tour card last season and is confident of making a return to the Asian Tour with a good performance this week.
"It is always nice to play in your home open. I've been hitting it good and I will try to put in four good rounds. If I play good this week, it will help me to accumulate money for the rankings and after a few good weeks, I hope things will turn around for me," said Airil.
The other Malaysians in the field are Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid (am), Danny Chia, Rashid Ismail, Shukree Othman, S. Sivachandran, Iain Steel, Nicholas Fung, Akhmal Tarmizee, Abel Tam (am), Mohd Iszaimi Ismail (am), P. Gunasegaran, Gavin Kyle Green (am), Ben Leong, and Anis Hassan.
For further information, please contact Asian Tour's Chuah Choo Chiang or Doyle De Costa at the media centre: +603 2095 1513. Also visit www.asiantour.com for Live Scoring.
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