Gavin hoping to make Team Asia captain Arjun proud at Mauritius Open
PETALING JAYA: Top national golfer Gavin Kyle Green (pic) will be looking to immediately impress Team Asia captain Arjun Atwal
when he tees off in the 1mil (RM4.85mil) Mauritius Open today.
The 23-year-old was named in Arjun’s 12-man side on Tuesday for the EurAsia Cup, presented by DRB-Hicom, clash against Team Europe at the Glenmarie and Country Club from Jan 12-14.
Gavin made the team on merit by virtue of being the top four Asian in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
The Mauritius Open, which is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour (African), provides the perfect platform for Gavin to show Arjun, who will also be playing this week, that he can beat some of the European heavyweights.
Gavin has described representing Team Asia for the first time as a “huge thing”.
“The EurAsia Cup is a huge thing and is totally a different ball game compared to a stroke-play event,” said Gavin, who could only finish joint 62nd at last week’s Hong Kong Open.
“Being a team event, everyone gathers like a big family. I hope Malaysian fans will come out and support Team Asia.”
His immediate focus, though, is on his first outing in the African continent, where he would be trying extend his lead in the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Australian Scott Hend, who trails Gavin in third spot by about US$130,000 (RM530,000) in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, has warned Gavin that he’s ready to pounce if the Malaysian slips up again (after the Hong Kong Open).
“Gavin keeps giving me these opportuni- ties. I’ve been playing quite averagely and he could have shut the door in the last few events,” said Hend, the reigning Asian Tour No. 1.
“The guy that is leading the Order of Merit isn’t really stamping his authority, so it’s nice to have the opportunity to grab the trophy with both hands. If one of us close to Gavin can pop a win this week, it will all come down to Jakarta (Indonesian Masters).”
Gavin is Malaysia’s sole representative in the Mauritius Open as Nicholas Fung and Danny Chia have their own commitments elsewhere.
Nicholas has opted to play in the inaugural Asian Golf Championships, a full-field Asian Tour event, in Xiamen, China; while Danny, who celebrated his 45th birthday yesterday, is in Ibaraki, Japan to pursue his life-long dream of joining the Japan Golf Tour.
Danny will be among the 200 hopefuls vying for playing privileges in 2018 through the Final Qualifying Tournament.
Only the top-35 finishers at the end of the gruelling 108-hole contest will get the full card.