Two top golfers to compete in Maybank Championship

KUALA LUMPUR: Two holders of the prestigious Masters green jacket wil l compete in the Maybank Championship 2017 at Saujana Golf and Country Club from Feb 9 to 12 next year, as Charl Schwartzel was announced yesterday as the latest player getting ready for the event.

He will be joining Masters champion Danny Willet who won his first Major at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, United States in 2011.

Wi l let has a further 14 professional wins worldwide, 10 of those on the European Tour.

I n a s t ateme nt h e r e yesterday, Schwartzel said Maybank did a great job for the players as the Maybank Championship was one of the marquee events in Asia for the European Tour and was very excited to experience the ‘golf like never before’ for himself.

“The 2017 season has started well for me, so I am feeling good about the year ahead and excited to see what I can do when I get to Malaysia in February.

“Travelling to Asia and Kuala Lumpur is always a favourite trip among players so I am really looking forward to being there,” he added.

Top A s i a n f avou r i t e Anirban Lahiri who enjoyed a memorable 2015 season as he won the Maybank Malaysian Open and followed it up two weeks later with victory at the Hero Indian Open is also set for the Saujana showdown.

Lahiri said Malaysia had been a very important place for his career as he bagged his first European Tour win and would love to get back to winning ways when he returned for the Maybank Championship.

“The fans gave me a lot of support to help me with that win and I want to get 2017 off to a strong start and I am hoping those winning memories can give me an edge against what will be a very tough line-up,” he said.

Joining the field of top players from European Tour and Asian Tour will be a number of local players including top Malaysian amateur, Daeng Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz. — Bernama