In-form Ben hoping to peak at the right time

SUBANG: National No. 3 Ben Leong (pic) will seek to build on his good form to cash in on the US$3mil (RM11.7mil) Maybank Championship starting at the Saujana Golf and Country Club today.

The 32-year-old made the cut in his first two starts of the season – finishing joint 23rd at the Singapore Open and was tied 35th at the Myanmar Open in the last two weeks.

The only other time Ben started the season flawless in his first two Asian Tour outings was in 2010.

He has never managed to open his campaign with three straight cuts in his previous six seasons on Tour.

“With two cuts made out of two tournaments, I would say it would be one of my best starts in recent years,” said Ben, who won the 2008 Selangor Masters for his sole Asian Tour victory to-date.

“The goal is to build on it and hopefully I can peak at the right time.”

Ben does not need to be reminded of how rewarding it is for him to finish strongly this week.

He was the best-placed Malaysian last year, tying for 12th place to pocket a deserving US$43,575 (RM170,000) and virtually seal his Asian Tour playing privileges for the following season.

“It was a great result last year ... that’s a perfect response to a poor start in Singapore and Myanmar,” he recalled.

“I had a week off before the Maybank Championship and reflected on my performances (last year).

“I knew that I just had to make the cut to add money on the Order of Merit but I exceeded my expectations,” added Ben, who ended the season 40th in the money list with US$103,131 (RM402,000).

Ben is part of the local charge alongside fellow Asian Tour winners Gavin Kyle Green, Nicholas Fung and Danny Chia.

The other 11 Malaysians in the 156-man field teeing off today are 10 PGM Tour qualifiers – Arie Irawan Fauzi, Shariffuddin Ariffin, R. Nachimuthu, Sukree Othman, Khor Kheng Hwai, Kemarol Baharin, Airil Rizman Zahari, Amir Nazrin Jailani, Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf, M. Sasidaran – and Gavin’s younger brother Galven Kendall, who was invited as the top ranked amateur.

Only five out of the 15-man local contingent made the cut last year. Besides Ben, Gavin, Nicholas, Danny and Arie were the other four players who advanced into the weekend rounds.