National No. 2 Nicholas out to make amends at Yeangder TPC

PETALING JAYA: It’s been more than a year since Nicholas Fung suffered a late meltdown which cost him the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) title.

The 27-year-old is bent on making amends when he gets another crack at the title at the US$500,000 (RM2.11mil) event at Linkou International Golf and Country Club in Taiwan today.

Last July, Nicholas looked poised for his maiden breakthrough triumph when two bogeys on his last four holes resulted in him ending up joint third.

“I learnt a lot from last year. I was pushing myself too hard for my first Asian Tour title,” said Nicholas, who is bound for the CIMB Classic next week.

“I wanted the win so badly and I was thinking too far ahead before the round ended.

“I was leading by two shots and I thought I was going to win after 13 holes.

“On the 14th hole I hit a nice approach shot and had a good chance for birdie but missed. From there onwards, it all went downhill.”

Having secured his breakthrough victory at the Queen’s Cup in Thailand in June, Nicholas will enter the Yeangder TPC fray as he bids to become the first Malaysian multiple winner in an Asian Tour season.

But he knows it will not be easy after failing in the last four tournaments after the Queen’s Cup. He was joint 16th at last week’s Taiwan Masters.

“What I need to do is play my best and not put too much pressure on myself,” he explained.

“After I won the Queen’s Cup, I went to India (TAKE Solutions Masters) and the course suits me. I was pushing myself to become a multiple winner there but it didn’t happen. I wasn’t even close.

“So, I’m just going to enjoy my game and see how it goes.”

Danny Chia and Ben Leong are the other Malaysians in the 144man field.

Ben, playing for the fourth consecutive week, will seek to maintain his consistent form. He made the cut in all his last three starts highlighted by his season-best outing – tied seventh – at the Taiwan Masters.

Taiwan Masters winner Gavin Kyle Green has decided to skip this week’s event to focus on the CIMB Classic.