Monty, Thongchai have 'Masters' plan

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."