Yang aims for gold at CIMB Asia Pacific Classic
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Asia's history-maker Y.E. Yang plans to end his year with a big bang to make up for a relatively quiet season in the United States.
The Korean star, who delivered Asia's first Major victory following his triumph at the 2009 PGA Championship, is keen to stamp his mark in the inaugural US$6 million CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia starting on Thursday.
Yang arrived at the impressive Mines Resort and Golf Club, built on a former tin mine, on Monday and instantly found a liking for the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course.
"It's going to be fun, it looks like a fun course," said Yang, who is an honorary member of the Asian Tour. "It seems like a lot of birdies will come out. The key is to play well on the greens which are fast and undulating."
With fellow Major winners Ernie Els and Retief Goosen and Ryder Cup stars Luke Donald and Rickie Fowler headlining the elite 40-man field, Yang knows he will need to reproduce the kind of magical form that saw him topple Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship.
"Relatively compared to last year, it's been a bit of a let down but I don't think it has been a subpar performance. It was an average year on the PGA Tour but I've off set that with wins in China and Korea. I've got two or three more events in Asia and I'm trying to make the most of that. Asia has always been good to me and hopefully I can play better in Asia than on the PGA Tour," said Yang.
He lauded the launch of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia, saying it could spark other Asian countries to follow suit and establish lucrative tournaments as well.
"It's always good to have the Asian Tour bring in new ideas. This is definitely a good idea and to have the PGA Tour partner with the Asian Tour and the Asian Tour partner the PGA Tour, it reflects how the Asian Tour has made big strides for golf in Asia," said Yang, who cut his professional teeth on the Asian Tour before hitting it big in America.
"It's always good to have quality events like this in Asia. Hopefully the organisers and sponsors can sustain this effort for many years. This, being a benchmark event, hopefully the same type of events can spread and proliferate themselves around Asia."
Yang said becoming Asia's first Major champion was a great honour and experience and reckons he can certainly add a second Major in the near future. "If there is another opportunity like that, I'll try to grab the reins and try to win. Once you sense the feeling and experience as a Major champion, you really want some more," said Yang.
Countryman Noh Seung-yul, the current leader of the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, is also upbeat ahead of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia, where he will play the opening round with world number eight Donald, the highest ranked player in this week's field.
"It's great that this big event is being held and a lot of Asians are offered the opportunity to play. It's a good opportunity not only for the PGA Tour players to showcase their talents but also good for the Asian Tour players to showcase our talents and hopefully, and probably, one of us can do well this week," said Noh.
While he won the Malaysian Open in March and finished second in the recent Iskandar Johor Open, the talented 19 year old is playing down his chances despite his fondness for Malaysia.
"Malaysia is always good to me. Every time I come, it's a good experience," said Noh, who is bidding to become Asia's youngest number one. "During the beginning of the season and most recently, my form has been at its best for quite some time. I stumbled a bit in the middle of the year as I needed to get used to Europe with the different courses and the travel.
"Coming back to Asia, I think I have regained my early season form. When I first came to Malaysia (this year), I finished first, then the second time I came, I finished second. You can see the trend right? The competition is stiffer than the previous two events. If I finish third, I'll be quite happy."
The title sponsor of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia is CIMB Group. CIMB Group is one of Southeast Asia's leading universal banking franchises. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with key offices across South East Asia, CIMB Group offers a full suite of financial services and related products. Read more about CIMB Group at www.cimb.com.
