HANOI, Vietnam – Nov. 3, 2004 – Former US Open champion Corey Pavin tees off in the inaugural Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam on Thursday, where he hopes to deliver a home victory for his wife.
The man nicknamed 'The Bulldog' is the star attraction in the $200,000 Asian Tour event at Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club where he is tipped to contend along with Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, in-form American Clay Devers and veteran Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand.
"It's always fun for me to go to a new place and many of you know that my wife, Lisa is a Vietnamese. It is a great opportunity for us to come here and play in this tournament and after this, we'll tour the country for 10 days," said Pavin in a packed press conference on Wednesday.
"I've done a lot of work with (swing coach) Butch Harmon and he's helped my game a lot over the past year. Hopefully, I can continue to play well where I aim to contend and win this tournament."
Pavin, famed for winning the 1995 US Open along with 25 other international titles, wants his wife to caddie for him this week, if her luggage shows up in Hanoi. "We missed her luggage and if we get it in time, the plan is for her to caddie for me. She caddied in one round on the US PGA Tour a couple of years ago and also for eight holes this year when my caddie got sick.
"It is fun. I enjoy having her caddie for me. She doesn't help too much on advice but it's nice to have her around to just talk. I've never been to Vietnam previously and hopefully this new event will start golf in Vietnam and help promote golf here," he said.
The 44-year-old Pavin praises the par-72, 7,097 yards Chi Linh Star layout, saying it will be a stern challenge with the thick rought around the greens likely to punish errant shots. With a seven hectare-size lake being at the heart of the picturesque course and coming into play on several holes, risk and reward is very much part of the equation in what is the 19th leg of the Asian Tour.
"The course is very good. It's a little new but it's in good condition and I like it a lot. It will be a challenge. The greens have a lot of slope and the rough around the greens will be tough," said Pavin.
Thongchai, the current Asian Tour number one, is playing in his first Asian Tour event in six months after spending most of his year in Europe and the US. He flew in from Spain after competing in the season-ending Volvo Masters Andalucia where he finished 33rd and ended the year in a respectable 43rd place on the European Tour money ranking.
"I'm a bit tired but my game is in good shape. It's good to be back on the Asian Tour and support a new event," said Thongchai, who will aim to complete a Carlsberg double as he won the Carlsberg Malaysian Open in February.
"I saw my coach in Bangkok two weeks ago and we worked on things. My game right now is good. I played well last week at Valderrama but the course set up was tough. Hopefully it'll be a good week for me here as I aim to make it a good first visit to Hanoi."
Nine years after winning the Vietnam Open, which was held only twice, Devers, runner-up in the Sanya Open in China last week, said the growth of the game in this developing nation would benefit from the staging of the inaugural Carlsberg Masters Vietnam.
"In 1995, people were saying how new golf was back then. Yesterday, I played with two ladies who watched me play when I first won in Vietnam and they were saying that golf is really growing and many courses are being built. In the next 10 years I'm sure golf here will become bigger," said Devers.
Six amateur Vietnamese players will get a taste of the professional game. Nguyen Thai Duong, an 18-year-old who has trained in Malaysia since this year under swing coach Kel Llewellyn, reckons the event will draw more youngsters to the game as they bid to become Vietnam's versions of Tiger Woods or Vijay Singh.
"You can count with your fingers the number of young players here but more will start learning the game with events like this being held in Hanoi. I'm nervous just sitting here with three great players but I'm sure the experience of playing will help my career and the other amateurs. I've practiced hard over the last three months and hope to do well. It is very long from the back tees," said Duong, who played in a practice round with Pavin on Wednesday and will play the first two rounds with Thongchai and the American.
The inaugural Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam is the 19th leg on the Asian Tour. The $200,000 tournament is title sponsored by Carlsberg, one of the largest brewery groups in the world as well as in Vietnam. The tournament's main sponsors are Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club, Thai Airways as the Official Carrier, Hilton Hanoi Opera as the Official Hotel, GM Daewoo as the Official Car, Canon as the Official Office Suppliers and Aquafina as the Official Drink. Event partners include I-Golf, Hospital Francais De Hanoi, LG Electronics, Pepsi, the European Plastic Windows, Vinausteel, Nippon Paint, Somerset Grand Hanoi, Vietnam Partners LLC and High Performance Technology Joint Stock.
Media Contact:
Chuah Choo Chiang
Asian Tour
Communications Manager
T: +84 320 586 717
E: chuah@asiantour.com
Live scoring on www.asiantour.com
