Singapore: South African Jbe Kruger is looking for his first Asian Tour victory at the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic golf which starts Thursday at the Orchid Country Club.
A strong line-up of Asian Tour stars has gathered in Singapore with title-holder Peter Karmis of South Africa, Thai stars Prayad Marksaeng and Pariya Junhasavasdikul, India's Sujjan Singh and local favourites Mardan Mamat, Lam Chih Bing and Quincy Quek tipped to sparkle.
There are numerous Indian contenders, including Sujjan Singh, fifth on Order of Merit, three-time winner Gaurav Ghei, winner of Panasonic Masters Anirban Lahiri, 1998 Indian Open champion Feroz Ali and young guns like Himmat Rai, Manav Jaini, Ashok Kumar, Chiragh Kumar and Vikrant Chopra, among others. Also teeing up will be experienced Digvijay Singh, who is also looking for his maiden win.
"I've been playing well but I think the Avantha Masters (he finished fifth) was the one big week for me. We've got a few tournaments in a roll and it's time to start playing well. Having secured my card at Avantha, the pressure's now better and I can go out and play now. The courses on the Tour are great, the players are great," Sujjan said.
"It has been a new week every week. I'm playing a lot better now, so I'm taking a lot of confidence from that and I'm looking forward to some good golf for the next six to eight weeks. There're so many things that I've got to adjust to during the initial stages but I'm a lot more comfortable with how things have been going now."
In 2010, Kruger was beaten to second place by Karmis which was one of three runner-up finishes he had on the Asian Tour. This season, he has come close on several occasions, finishing seventh, third and fifth in Korea, the Philippines and Thailand, respectively; and he knows it is only a matter of time before he barges through the winner's door.
"I'm feeling really comfortable and confident to be back here. I think it's just meant to be that I did not win (last year) and I am glad Peter won. If anybody were to beat me, I hope that it would be Peter. I will try to play better this week," said Kruger.
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