Chia, Fung eye strong outing at ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf
KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran Danny Chia hopes to regain his drive to make up for lost time at the US$ 8 million (RM35.3 million) ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf when the prestigious team competition starts on Thursday.
Chia will partner Nicholas Fung in the 28-nation team event at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, his third appearance in the World Cup after a lapse of 15 years when Malaysia last qualified in 2001.
“I didn’t expect to play in the World Cup of Golf again after being out for so long,” said Chia as quoted by Asian Tour in its official website today.
“At one stage this year, I was trying really hard to catch Vijay Singh (of Fiji) in the world rankings as I was close to him and he was the last guy in.
“I just missed out at the time of the qualifying cut off and didn’t think about after that. So it was just good news when Vijay decided to pull out later and I got the call to play,” he added.
Chia was in awe of Kingston Heath, saying that the famous sandbelt course in Melbourne will test every club in the bag.
“Its a great golf course. You pretty much need every shot in the bag.
“There are some short and tight holes, some good par threes and some long par fours. There is a bit of everything here,” said the 43year- old, who struggled with his driving lately.
The two-time Asian Tour winner said he would overcome the problem this week and probably sacrifice distance on most holes and go with the hybrid club to make it easy for Fung in the foursomes (alternate shot) match.
“I will try to work out the driver which I’ve just lost some confidence with it,” he added.
World Cup debutant Fung is certainly excited at the prospect of partnering his mentor and close friend at Kingston Heath.
They combined brilliantly at the EurAsia Cup in January, earning two halve points for Team Asia.
“Its good to be here for my first World Cup. Its been 15 years since Malaysia last played and teaming up with Danny is great. We know each other’s game well as we play practice rounds regularly on the Asian Tour.
“Since we spend so much time together, its easy to get along with Danny. We also combined really well in the EurAsia Cup. I guess that’s why he picked me.
“Danny is a good putter, so whenever I can, I’ll make sure I put him in a good position on the greens,” he said. — Bernama