Haze won't stop Mild Seven golf tournament

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Organizers of the Mild Seven Kuala Lumpur Open have said that despite the haze, the tournament will go ahead at Saujana Golf and Country Club.

Ramlan Harun, Executive Director of Asian PGA, said measures would be taken to ensure that the event, the 11th leg of the 1997 Omega Tour, went ahead smoothly.

"If the haze gets worse, players may be advised to use face masks. This is the first time we are facing such a situation," he said.

"Visibility is not a problem at the moment for the players. Our main concern is the television coverage and whether or not the cameras will be able to pick up the ball flight," he said.

On the day when President Soeharto of Indonesia apologized for his country's raging bush fires that have blanketed the region with haze, players were adjusting to the threat.

"On Tuesday visibility was down to about 300 yards for a while but since then I have not had a problem seeing my ball," said American Eric Rustand, who is one of the longest hitters on the Asian PGA's Omega Tour.

"It's all a bit like a scene out of the future after the nuclear holocaust," said India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who lost in a sudden-death play-off last weekend in the Asia Pacific Ericsson Masters to Australian Darren Cole.

"It reminds me of a foggy winter's day back home," added Scotland's Simon Yates.

The Mild Seven Kuala Lumpur Open is one of Asia's newest and most exciting tournaments.

Following the tournament's successful inauguration last year the Mild Seven Kuala Lumpur returns in 1997 boasting one of the strongest fields of the year on the Asian golf calendar.

For what will be one of the showpiece events on the 1997 Omega Tour top players from the Asia Pacific region have been attracted to play in the US$300,000 event.

Leading the way and fresh from his joint sixth place finish in the European Masters on the European Tour three weeks ago will be China's Zhang Lianwei.

Zhang was joint fourth in last year's Kuala Lumpur Open and clearly enjoys playing in Malaysia having won the 1995 and 1996 Volvo Masters in Malaysia.

Virtually all of the Asian PGA's finest players have made the trip to Kuala Lumpur including Americans Gerry Norquist, Clay Devers and Mike Cunning.

Norquist is a two time winner on Malaysian soil having won the Malaysian Open in 1993 and the Royal Perak Classic on the Omega Tour in 1995. Devers is another Malaysia specialist having won the Malaysian Open and Malaysian PGA Championship in 1995.

Also challenging for honors are Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit and Prayad Marksaeng, Myanmar's Kyi Hla Han, and Felix Casas of the Philippines.

From South Africa Nico Van Rensburg, Craig Kamps and Hendrik Buhrmann are playing as are Australians Scott Laycock, Andrew Bonhomme and John Senden.