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)