Green, Leong aiming for better performance in World Cup debut

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's top-ranked golfer Gavin Kyle Green and teammate Ben Leong want to make their mark in their debut in the 2018 World Cup of Golf which starts on Thursday in Melbourne, Australia.

Green, the 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, revealed that unclear weather conditions would play a major role whether they can give a strong competition to 27 other pairs at the Metropolitan Golf Club.

“It is going to be another week of rain. Ben and I will try and figure out a plan and strategy and do what we need to do on this course. Hopefully we can pull it off,” he was quoted as saying in the Asian Tour website;www.asiantour.com.

“The wind is going to be strong this week. We just have to wait and see what happens. On a course like this where it's a little bit tighter, we got foursomes and we got Ben to hit it on the fairways and I won't have problems hitting my second shots,” added Green who claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory in Taiwan, last year.

Commenting further, the 24-year-old added that he and Leong know each other's game after playing more tournaments together back in Malaysia.

“We have got nothing to lose this week. We will just go out there, enjoy and do the best we can. We have an idea of what we have to do already. I will probably take on the longer holes and Ben will take the straighter ones,” he quipped.

Leong, who was selected by Green, hopes to repay the faith by putting in every effort to give a commendable in the Melbourne showpiece. - Bernama

“The course is playing firm and fast. It's looking great. My game is feeling good as well, like what Gavin said, we just got to manage our game here. We just got to keep it on the low side,” added Leong, who won his first Asian Tour title back in 2008.

Green and Leong will play against Team Zimbabwe who are represented by Scott Vincent and Benjamin FollettSmith in the first match of the tournament which is using the fourball format.

Malaysia's best finish was in 1994 when M. Ramayah and the late P. Gunasegaran emerged ninth in Puerto Rico while at the 2006 World Cup in Melbourne, Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung ended up joint 22nd.

The 2018 World Cup of Golf is a 72-hole, two-man team format, and affords the opportunity for the top players in the game to represent their countries on an international stage.

The first and third days of competition are four-ball (best ball) format and the second and final days are foursomes (alternate shot) play. - Bernama