Golfer Ajeetesh aims to continue stellar form at Macau Open

Macao, Oct 18 (IANS) With his confidence boosted after bagging his maiden win on the Asian Tour a fortnight ago, India golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu will be aiming to continue his winning streak when he tees off for the first time in four years at the Macau Open on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Ajeetesh broke into the winner's circle on the Asian Tour for the first time in Chinese Taipei before going on to clinch another victory on the Japan Challenge Tour last week.

Ajeetesh's double victories in two weeks has installed him as one of the title favourites at the $500,000 full-field Asian Tour event held at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

"The past two weeks have been pretty amazing. I didn't expect to win back to back on different Tours. It takes care of a lot of things for me. I can just plan my schedule now and play whatever I feel like," Ajeetesh said in an Asian Tour release on Wednesday.

"I hope to play the best that I can this week. If I can do that, I should be up there on the leaderboard and contending for the title. That's my target this week. I want to get off to a good start and play a few good rounds and then see how it goes."

He will be part of the strong 144-man field where no fewer than 39 Asian Tour winners, including five Order of Merit champions, will be in action at the Macao showpiece.

With his confidence at an all-time high, Ajeetesh has also set his sights on the 2018 EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM. A good showing this week will boost his Merit rankings and edge him closer to representing Team Asia, captained by his countryman Arjun Atwal.

"The EurAsia Cup has crossed my mind now that I have won my first title on the Asian Tour. With Arjun Atwal being the captain for Team Asia, it will be an honour if I can qualify," he said.

Apart from Ajeetesh, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jyoti Randhawa, Chiragh Kumar, S. Chikka and Rashid Khan are also among the big Indian contingent who will be in action here.

Meanwhile, reigning Order of Merit champion Scott Hend of Australia will be bidding to become the first player to win the Macao Open three times.

Apart from defending champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand, American David Lipsky is also a favourite. The Thai pair of Jazz Janewattananond and Poom Saksansin will also be in focus.

The four-day tournament is jointly organised by the Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government (MSB) and the Golf Association of Macau. It is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, and promoted by IMG.

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