Vijay Singh favored to win Dunhill Masters crown
Vijay Singh favored to win Dunhill Masters crown
JAKARTA (JP): Fresh from a US$150,000 Lancome Trophy victory
in France, the European tournament of champions, Fiji's Vijay
Singh has been deemed the favorite to grab the Alfred Dunhill
Masters title, due to tee-off on Wednesday in Nusa Dua, Bali.
"It would be entirely appropriate, and a further boost in the
already enormous enthusiasm for the game of golf in Asia, if the
inaugural of the Masters tournament was won by Singh. He has
established himself on the international circuit as one of the
top golfers," a committee official said yesterday.
Singh's latest win in France, where he overcame a strong field
of world-class players including Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo,
Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian
Woosnam, demonstrated that he is strongly favored to continue his
impressive winning form.
The $350,000 event at the picturesque Bali Golf and Country
Club and its coveted trophy provided by the leading English
luxury goods company, will bring together a field of 120 top
golfers from all around the world which, besides Singh, includes
World number three Faldo, the leading money winner in Europe,
Colin Montgomerie, David Frost of South Africa, Craig Parry and
Roger Davis, both from Australia. A strong field of Asian stars
are also expected to compete.
The field of the world beaters will play on a golf link that
has been substantially changed from the one that is so popular
with visitors to the beautiful island of Bali.
Not only have the fairways been narrowed down for the pros but
the rough has been allowed to grow making the course more
challenging -- at least three clubs more difficult, the
superintendent said.
The whole routing of the 6,261 meters layout designed by Robin
Nelson and Rodney Wright has been turned on its head. The 10th
hole becomes the 1st for the pros and the club's normal 1st hole
will be the 8th; only the 17th and 18th holes remain the same.
The reason for this turn around "is to minimize the distance
between holes but most importantly to ensure that the best holes
can be included in international TV coverage," tournament
director Peter German explained. (rsl)