Monty, Thongchai have 'Masters' plan
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With the time ticking away until April's U.S. Masters, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is not alone in considering a win at the Standard Chartered Indonesia Open 2005 here crucial to qualifying for Augusta.
Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, currently 65th on the PGA Tour ranking list, and Ireland's Paul McGinley (62) are also seeking to qualify for the Grand Slam event by winning the remaining ranking points on offer in Jakarta.
"I will try to win here so that the rest will take care of itself," Montgomerie, 41, said during a media conference at Cengkareng Golf Course, the tournament venue, on Wednesday.
"So far I am pleased with my consistent performance this year."
The four-day cosanctioned European and Asian Tour tournament begins on Thursday.
Montgomerie, currently 54th in the rankings after starting the year at 83, must make the top 50 by March 28 to qualify for the Masters.
He came close to that goal last week at the TCL Classic in China. A win would have assured him a place in the Masters, but he slipped from joint leader to sixth in the final round.
The seven-time European champion knows he will have to work hard for a victory here, and he noted the strong draw, with good players from Europe and Asia.
Montgomerie -- who is noticeably slimmer from the days when he rivaled John Daly as the heaviest player on the tour -- has tried to acclimatize himself to the Jakarta heat since arriving three days ago.
He said the course was in good condition, with the probability of low scoring rounds making it difficult to pass Friday's cut.
Thongchai, who was also at the media conference, also recognized the importance of the Jakarta event to the rankings.
"I have to win this tournament because if I do, I will have a chance to play in the U.S. Masters."
Despite his high target, Thongchai said he was not feeling the pressure because he was used to competing against the sport's top players.
"I have played in a lot on the European Tour. This time, I just have to play my own game."
Thongchai also praised the condition of the course, and said he was happy to play in Indonesia again after competing in the 1997 Southeast Asia (SEA) Games in Jakarta.
Montgomerie, Thongchai along with India's Arjun Atwal are in the same playing group on Thursday, with a tee-off time of 7:50 a.m., and the back nine scheduled to start at 12:40 p.m.
McGinley, who finished second in China last week, as well as Asian Tour and Chinese top golf player Zhang Lian-Wei, are other big names in the 145-player draw.
Five local players -- Reindert "Randy" Alexander Mawuntu, Sukamdi, Kasiadi, Asep Caprie Supriatna and A Ilyassyak -- are also competing.
Randy is determined to make the cut in order to gain valuable experience from playing some of the world's best.
"I just want to play as long as possible," he said. "It will provide a lot of lessons to me and a good image for Indonesia in golf."