Asian Tour crown on Itthipat’s wishlist
KOTA KINABALU: Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat gets another chance to win his first Asian Tour title at this week’s inaugural Sabah Masters in Malaysia.
The US$300,000 event at the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club starts tomorrow.
Itthipat got off to a fast start at last week’s Panasonic Open India where he took the first round lead only to run out of steam and finish down the leaderboard.
The 26-year-old star won his third title on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the season-opening Boonchu Ruangkit Championship on home soil in January.
Itthipat, who is currently third on the ADT Order of Merit, recorded his best result on the Asian Tour when he came in joint sixth at the Sarawak Championship in August.
Itthipat was recently crowned the 2019 Order of Merit champion on the All Thailand Golf Tour.
“My game is feeling good. I played well in India last week and I shot a 64 to take the opening round lead. That gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
“My ultimate goal is to win an Asian Tour event. There have been a lot of new winners on the tour this season. I hope to get mine soon. The focus is more on the Asian Tour now for sure. I will try my best this week.”
Malaysia’s Ben Leong will be banking on his home comfort.
The 33-year-old Sabah native, who enjoyed a tied-sixth finish in Thailand a fortnight ago, hopes to capitalise on his recent fine form by putting up a strong performance on home soil.
“I have been playing consistently. I struggled at the start of the year but it’s all in the past now. I am looking forward to this week,” he said.