Chinese Taipei, September 26: Promising talent Viraj Madappa of India hopes to make it a week to remember when he tees up for his debut appearance at the US$850,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which starts on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Madappa, who came through the Qualifying School in January, made the headlines when he claimed his maiden victory on home soil last month. He is looking to ride on that winning form when he makes his first professional start in Chinese Taipei this week.

Madappa will spearhead the talented 123-man field alongside two-time Asian Tour winners Danny Chia of Malaysia and Thailand’s Prom Meesawat in the storied event, which is celebrating its 32nd edition at the fabled Taiwan Golf and Country Club this week.

This year’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters will mark a significant milestone as the regular host venue, the Taiwan Golf and Country Club celebrates its centennial year in 2018 as the oldest club in the country.

Chia will aim to bounce back from an uncharacteristic lackluster season by putting up another good showing at the venue which saw him end a 13-year title drought for his second Asian Tour victory in 2015.

Placed 16th on the current Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings thanks to two top-10 finishes in Australia and Thailand, Prom is eyeing a strong performance this week to break into top-10 to qualify for the lucrative CIMB Classic in Malaysia in November.

Players will be vying to boost their Merit rankings as the top 10 and top four players (not otherwise exempt) on the Habitat for Humanity standings will qualify for the US$7 million CIMB Classic and US$10 million WGC-HSBC Champions staged in Malaysia and China respectively.

The Mercuries Taiwan Masters will be the penultimate event for players to try and boost their rankings on the Habitat for Humanity Standings before the cut-off date on October 7.

Did you know?

• Viraj Madappa became the youngest Indian player to win on the Asian Tour after lifting the TAKE Solutions Masters trophy last month. He won at the age of 20 years and nine months, breaking the previous record set by Gaganjeet Bhullar, who was 21 years and three months old when he won his first Asian Tour title at the 2009 Indonesia President Invitational.
• Madappa is also the youngest winner on the Asian Tour this season.
• Madappa, who turned professional in 2017, made the grade in his first attempt at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January. He is the first rookie to win on the Asian Tour this season.
• Danny Chia is a history-maker for Malaysia. In 2010, he became the first player from his country to play in all four rounds at The Open at St Andrews, which he also qualified for in 2005 and 2008.
• Chia became the first Malaysian to win on the Asian Tour with victory at the 2002 Taiwan Open where he came from seven shots back to triumph. In 2015, he ended a 13-year title drought for his second Asian Tour title at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.
• The 45-year-old Chia is also a three-time winner on the Asian Development Tour.
• Prom Meesawat is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He claimed his second and last Asian Tour victory in Chinese Taipei in 2014.
• Last week, Prom was picked by good friend and fellow Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat to be his partner for the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf in October. It will be his debut appearance in the prestigious event.
• Prom enjoyed a tied-12th place finish at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters last year. He has never finished outside top-33 in his last five starts since 2012.
• Prom missed only two cuts in 19 starts so far on the Asian Tour this season.

Players’ quotes:

Viraj Madappa (Ind)

It’s been pretty different for me since I won in August. People have been coming to congratulate me and I got into the big events in Korea and Japan last two weeks. I was just trying to see where I stand against the better players out there.

It was a nice experience last two weeks. I feel like there’s more expectations for me to do well now. I feel like I am doing alright so far. I’ve been through a little bit of phase where I am trying to find more motivation to achieve the bigger goals.

The goal at the beginning of the season was to win a tournament and now I’m trying to regroup and set other goals for the second half of the season. I felt like I wasn’t at my best mentally the last two weeks. I had time to sit back and think through the last few days, about what I needed to do. I didn’t touch the clubs at all. I think I found something now and I’m excited again.

It’s my first time playing this tournament and my second time in Chinese Taipei. I came to play in an amateur event back in 2015. I have heard that it’s going to be tough out there, especially when the wind picks up. Par would be a good number to shoot.

Having played the course yesterday, I feel it’s pretty tight but it’s fair. The conditions are good and the greens are rolling quite nicely. Like every other golf course, you got to hit it straight. You can attack if you can hit the fairways. But at the same time, you need to be careful because the greens aren’t very big and if you miss it on the wrong spot, it can be difficult.

Looks like it’s going to be a long week with the persistent rain so I will try to stay patient out there and keep doing what I have doing.

All of us are very proud of what Shubhankar (Sharma) has achieved so far. He deserves the Arjuna award, given the way he has played in the last eight to 12 months. I’m very happy for him. I am sure all of us are very proud of him.

I definitely hope to receive the award one day but I think it’s just a by-product of your achievements. You still need to get your stuff done, put in the hard work and you’ll get recognized for it one day.

Danny Chia (Mas)

The course is probably in its best condition which I have ever seen since I first played here. Hopefully the greens can stay like that when the tournament starts. I haven’t been playing well this year so I hope to regain my good form this week and we’ll see how it goes from there.

I feel very comfortable with this course. It’s a course which I know pretty well. I got my regular caddy with me again this week. I worked with him every time I play here. I think we’ve worked together for 10 years already. He caddies for me every year.

I hope we can put together some good results this week.

Prom Meesawat (Tha)

I’ve played this course many times. It’s like an old-style golf course. I remembered the greens are very tricky and the windy conditions will make it even trickier. When I first played here, I thought it’s quite a short course and it should be quite easy. But that’s not the case when you actually play it.

It’s always nice to be back in Chinese Taipei. I have won in this country before and it’s good to come back with some good memories. We, the Thai players, have a good relationship with the Taiwanese players. It’s like meeting up with your old friends every time we come back here. They always take very good care of us and they look after us a lot.

I have been playing pretty well this season. My game has been consistent. Obviously received good news from Kiradech (Aphibarnrat) last week that I’m going to play in the World Cup for the first time with him in November. I am really excited. I hope to do better in the remainder of the season.

Two more events these two weeks to try and qualify for the CIMB Classic and WGC-HSBC Champions. I still have a chance. Just need to play well these two weeks and we’ll see how it goes. I go out every week trying to enjoy and win the tournament.

I have been working a lot on my fitness this year. I go to the gym whenever I have time. I guess that helped improved my game as it makes my swing more stable. That’s the key for me this year which resulted in some good results. But having said that, I’m still trying to make it better. I am working on other parts of my game as well. Hopefully, things will get even better.

Ends.