Ghei looks to continuing fine run

SEOUL: Gaurav Ghei hopes to continue from where he left as the Delhi player tees up at the SK Telecom Open golf tournament on Thursday.

Ghei, having his best season in more than a decade after claiming the title in Pine Valley Beijing Open and coming tantalisingly close to another last week in Macau, is one of the five Indians in the field.

Ghei, currently sixth on the UBS Asian Tour Order of Merit, said he was high on confidence after a stint with Claude Harmon, the renowned swing guru in United States.

"My confidence is high and I am playing well," said Ghei, whose best finish in the Order of Merit was fifth back in 1995, the first year of the Tour, when he also claimed his first title the Gadgil Western Masters.

He won his second tile last year in Taiwan and the third in April in Beijing. He came within one shot of getting into a play-off at Macau, and was also sixth at the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Ghei is joined by Rahil Gangjee, Amandeep Johl, SSP Chowrasia and Digvijay Singh, who has done well recently. He was 14th in Macau and earlier in the year he was 11th in Pakistan.

Local hero Charlie Wi will be competing on familiar ground as he aims for his third SK Telecom Open title. Wi had previously triumphed in the 2001 and 2002 editions and returning to a course where he claimed the runner-up spot in 2004, the 34-year-old talent will be eager to notch one better at the BA Vista Country Club. 

Among the other top guns vying for honours in Korea include American-born Australian Aaron Baddeley, Thai youngster Chinarat Phadungsil of Thailand, who is ranked 34th on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, Airil Rizman of Malaysia, who won the Pakistan Open, Chinese Taipei's Lu Wei-chih, and local trio of Hur Suk-ho, Kim Kyung-tae and Lee Sung.

Wi, a seven-time winner in Asia, will relish his return to Korea as he will be riding on his good run of form this year and eyeing the top prize at the USD 600,000 tournament.

It was a memorable win for Wi in 2001 when he played in a seven play-off holes to triumph over compatriot Kang Wook-soon and Scotsman Simon Yates.

"The last time I was in Asia was when I played in the Volvo Masters of Asia in December. It's nice to be back and I'm feeling confident. I'm playing steady and my game is solid. If I'm making the putts, I'll be right up there," said Wi, who shares the same coaches as Baddeley on the US PGA Tour. Wi plays primarily in the US where he delivered one top-10 result this season.

With two wins on the US PGA Tour, Baddeley, 26, is tipped to lead the way this week with his physical trainer David Darbyshire on the bag for the first time.

"I've been to China and Japan and I've always wanted to come to Korea. I'm very confident with my swing. If I can be consistent on the greens, I have a chance to win," said Baddeley, who had previously played junior golf in Australia with Asian Tour's Marcus Both and Kane Webber, the 2006 Macau Open winner.