Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Order Of Merit Leader Karlberg Poised To Maintain Momentum At CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters

Jakarta, April 22 - Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg will be seeking to extend his good form when he tees off at the US$750,000 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters which starts on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Swede surged to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit following his tied-fifth finish in Malaysia last week and believes he can continue to do well against a star-studded field at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Major winner Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and EurAsia Cup stars Thongchai Jaidee, Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, India’s Anirban Lahiri and Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman will headline the event.

“I’m feeling very confident after that good result in Malaysia last week and I hope to have a good week here in Jakarta as well. This is a course that suits me as it’s long off the tee and you can get pretty good opportunities. I’m also having lots of good vibes especially with my position on the Order of Merit and I hope it continues that way,” said Karlberg.

Winless on the Asian Tour since his double victory in India in 2010, Karlberg knows he is close to rediscovering that winning form especially with two top-five finishes in three starts.

“I just feel that if I get impatient, I’ll not get it. So I don’t think about it that much anymore and it’s showing. It’s going to be tough as the field is strong and you got to play really well to win. And that’s always a constant on this Tour,” said Karlberg.

Karlberg is looking to achieve what he has not done in the last four years since he made his debut on the region’s premier Tour in 2010. While it is still early days, the Swede is determined to earn the honor of being Asia’s number one by the end of the season.

“I finished third in my rookie season and I’ve always wanted to be number one. I haven’t really succeeded but hopefully I can do that this year,” said Karlberg.

Meanwhile EurAsia Cup hero Siddikur is determined to display that similar fighting spirit where Asia rallied back to force a 10-10 draw with Europe in the Ryder Cup style event last month.

“The EurAsia Cup was a great event and will always remain as a good memory for me. It never fails to bring a smile to my face each time I think about the EurAsia Cup as we fought back really hard and I want to bring that same fighting spirit over to every event I play in,” said Siddikur, who contributed two points in that memorable draw with Europe.

The two-time Asian Tour winner posted his best result of tied-third at the inaugural CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters in 2011 and is looking forward to better that result this week.

“I’ve been playing the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters every year since it started and I really enjoy coming back to Royale Jakarta Golf Club. I’m still feeling confident although I did not get that desired result in Malaysia last week. I’m hitting the ball well and I’m feeling positive about my game. If I can continue to hit like that, I stand a good chance this week,” said Siddikur.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is also highly charged and ready to show his prodigious talent again at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.

Jazz Janewattananond from Thailand also feels sure and ready to show his exceptional talents at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.

Playing in his third straight event, the 18-year-old is raring to get off the blocks quickly again.

“This is my third week playing competitive golf and it’s a brand new experience as I have not played three events in a row before. Mentally, I’m feeling energise as I’m already into competition mode and I can’t wait to get started again,” said Jazz.

Jazz showed his talent at an early age when he became the youngest ever player to make the halfway cut at the 2010 Asian Tour International in Bangkok at the age of 14 years and 71 days.

Having the opportunity of playing alongside some of the world’ best players in recent weeks, the young Thai is looking to put that experience to good effect at the CIMB Niaga Indonesia Masters.

“I played with Francesco Molinari and Marcel Siem in Malaysia last week and it was a good opportunity for me to observe their playing styles. I didn’t really care about the end result as the more important thing was what I managed to learn from the week. It’ll be good if I can get the chance to play alongside the star players again this week as this would mean I’m doing well,” said Jazz.

The CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters has enjoyed strong support with many of leading names committed to ensuring the event continues to be successful.

They include main partners Pertamina, BMW Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia, Freeport, Oakley and SvinGolf.

The CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will also reach out to over 200 countries and 627 million households via the Asian Tour’s global television platform.

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