Cunning to block Omega money list out of mind
By Bobby Allan Wilson
HONG KONG (JP): Leading Asian PGA money-earner Mike Cunning of America will attempt to put the race for the Omega Order of Merit out of his mind when he tees off tomorrow in the US$500,000 Omega PGA Championship at Hong Kong's Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club.
Following his joint ninth place finish at the Hong Kong Open last week, Cunning heads the Order of Merit with $170,619 in prize money, $46,813 ahead of second-placed Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand.
"Winning the Omega Order of Merit would be a nice bonus, but I'm definitely here to win the event," said 38-year-old Cunning.
"I've not won on the Omega Tour this year and I'll be trying to block the money list out of my mind -- the money title is good, but the tournament is far more important."
From 16 starts this year, Cunning has finished in the top ten no fewer than 11 times, and in the top five in seven of the Omega Tour events.
"I've come close so many times this year that I'm determined to finish 1997 on a winning note -- it might have appeared sometimes that I've been trying to protect my score on the final day but I have in fact been trying my hardest to win. That's the number one thing for me this week."
Any one of nine players can still mathematically win Asia's most prestigious golfing award, but in reality the winner of the money list is likely to come from the top five earners.
Prayad's chances of catching his American rival took a severe blow when he decided not to compete in Hong Kong last week, allowing Cunning to steal even more ground over the two-time winner on the circuit. But if the 31-year-old from Hua Hin was to win Omega's showpiece event on the Sai Kung Peninsula, and Cunning was to finish below second place, then Prayad would guarantee an Asian player finishes as the leading money earner for the third year in succession.
Final
Even if Prayad were to finish second this week, he could still head the final Order of Merit if Cunning finished outside the top 11. However, Prayad certainly won't be counting on this scenario in light of Cunning's outstanding consistency on the 1997 Omega Tour.
Lying in third place on the Omega Order of Merit with $107,091 is India's Jeev Milkha Singh. Despite recently gaining his card for next year's PGA European Tour, Jeev had a disappointing week at the Hong Kong Open where he finished tied for 46th.
But the 26-year-old from Chandigarh will certainly want to make amends at Clearwater Bay and could still finish the season as the top money earner if he collects the $80,750 winner's cheque and Cunning finishes outside the top six.
Back to defend his title this week, and still in with a slim chance of securing the Order of Merit crown, is Gerry Norquist of the U.S.
Norquist lies fifth on the Omega Order of Merit with $105,711, a mere three dollars behind compatriot Ted Purdy in fourth place. Norquist finished tied for 28th in the Hong Kong Open, and will be looking to repeat his form from earlier in the season when he won the DFS Galleria Guam Open.
Also featuring in the 132-strong field from 22 different countries, is the 1996 Omega Order of Merit winner Kang Wook-soon of Korea. Having failed to reach the heady heights of success he achieved in 1996, Kang has had a disappointing season to-date but showed signs of a return to form by finishing runner-up to New Zealand's Frank Nobilo at the Hong Kong Open.
Also returning to the 6,115-yard Clearwater Bay layout is the 1995 Omega PGA champion, Yeh Chang-ting of Chinese Taipei. A regular on the Japanese Tour, Yeh has made the most of his irregular appearances on the Asian PGA circuit, having also secured first place in the 1996 Yokohama Singapore PGA Championship.
Joining Yeh are two other Japanese Tour regulars: Zaw Moe of Myanmar, winner of August's Singtel Ericsson Singapore Open, and Korea's Kim Jong-duck.