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Singapore leader board boost for Asia

Tetsuji Huratsuka of Japan takes a shot on the the 7th tee during the third round of the Barclays Singapore Open golf tournament on Sunday. PHOTO: AFP

The Singapore Open leaderboard might have read like a who's who of world golf, but a host of Asian Tour regulars held their own in a tournament going from strength to strength.

With US Open champion Angel Cabrera, three-time Major winner Vijay Singh and world number six Adam Scott filling the top three, Asian Tour players were left to fight for the minor placings, but it bodes well for the future.

Jin Park, an American who is on his first regular season of Asian Tour golf, finished fourth while Thailand's Prom Messawat was sixth.

Other Asian Tour regulars -- Mark Brown of New Zealand, Kane Webber of Australia and India's Shiv Kapur -- all secured top 10 finishes ahead of players such as Phil Mickleson, K.J Choi, Ernie Els, and Charles Howell III.

"The Asian Tour has given me the opportunity to play with the superstars. The confidence that I'll take out of this week will be something that money cannot buy," Park said.

"I played with Angel Cabrera and Adam Scott and Lee Westwood and to play with those guys, I wasn't comfortable being out there with them," he said.

"But if I have the opportunity again, I know I might be able to compete and finish off the tournament stronger, and that is something I will take away," Park said.

He also won a US$197,200 cheque from a tournament that has positioned itself as one of the most lucrative Opens in the world.

Asian Tour chief Kyi Hla Han's vision has been to build attractive tournaments like the Singapore Open to lure the big stars for the benefit of Asian Tour regulars.

"We now have more tournaments on the Asian Tour and our players are gaining more experience, especially with people like Mickelson, Els, Scott, and Westwood coming here," he said.

"Through our World Ranking status, there's every opportunity for our players to play their way into the Majors. That gives added incentive for our guys to perform," he said.
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