Golfer Gangjee eyes second Asian Tour title

Mauritius, May 8 (IANS) Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee hopes to bag a long awaited second Asian Tour victory when he takes the field at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open which starts here next week.

Gangjee, whose mother Nazirah is from the famous holiday isle, finished tied 11th in the last edition, albeit on a different course, is determined to add another title to his lone Asian Tour victory in 2004 at the €1 million (approximately $1.09 million) event.

The 37-year-old will be joined by a strong cast which include Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat, Australian Scott Hend, young Filipino Miguel Tabuena and the South Korean duo of Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee at the Four Season Golf Club Mauritius in Anahita.

"I am really looking forward to going back to Mauritius. The game is as good as it can be right now. My mother will be coming to see me play again this year so I am really excited. A bit of ‘home’ support should do it," Gangjee said.

South Korea's rising star Wang will step up his chase for a maiden Asian Tour victory when he tees up for another shot of glory in what is the first ever tri-sanctioned event by the Asian, European and Sunshine Tours.

The 20-year-old Korean is placed sixth on the Order of Merit with earnings of US$280,497 thanks to four top-10s including a runner-up result at the Hero Indian Open in February.

"My game feels great at the moment. I feel very comfortable. My long game is accurate and consistent and my short game is good although I would like it to be a bit tighter," Wang said.

"My putting has been working well for me so I will try and keep to it. I’m very pleased with my season so far. Just trying to improve on it as the season goes on," the Korean added.

The Thai duo of Natipong Srithong and Danthai Boonma will also feature in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open alongside India’s Rashid Khan, Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka, Richard T. Lee of Canada, Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman and Taiwan's Lu Wei-chih.

Also in the fray are Indian veteran Arjun Atwal, Australian Sam Brazel, Steve Lewton of England, Japan's Masahiro Kawamura and Thai talent Phachara Khongwatmai, who became the youngest winner of a professional tournament at the age of 14 when he was still an amateur in 2013.