Seongnam, Korea, April 30: Thai star Prom Meesawat will be looking to capitalise on his recent win and put up a strong performance at The 38^th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship which gets underway on Thursday.

Coming off the back of his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory in Brunei, Prom is brimming with confidence ahead of his campaign at the KR₩1,200,000,000 (approx. US$1,067,000) event, which will be staged at the Namseoul Country Club.

The 34-year-old Thai, who is set to make his second appearance at The Open this July, will also be spurred by good memories in his bid for a third Asian Tour title and a second one in Korea this week. He claimed his maiden win in Korea in 2006.

Rising Thai star Danthai Boonma, who had uncharacteristically missed the halfway cut last year, hopes to redeem himself with a fine performance at the fabled course, which is hosting the storied event for the 33th time this week.

Danthai, a one-time Asian Tour winner in 2015, is enjoying a brilliant run of form, having claimed two victories recently in Thailand and Japan. He won the Singha E-San Open on his local circuit in February and was triumphant on the Japan Challenge Tour two weeks ago.

Indian rookie Aadil Bedi is also raring to get his challenge underway as he hopes to cap a memorable Korean debut in the event that is jointly-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korea Golf Association (KGA). Bedi made the grade in his first attempt at the Qualifying School last December.

Buoyed by a third-place finish on the ADT in Brunei last week, Qualifying School graduate Austen Truslow of the United States will ride high on his confidence as he acquaints himself with the country he has learnt much from in school.

The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship is the first of the three Asian Tour events to be played in Korea this season. It has been dominated by Koreans since 2005. American Mark Calcavecchia was the last foreigner to win the tournament in 2004.

The Namseoul Country Club was opened in 1971 and has been the host venue of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open since 1982 except for five occasions in 1984, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2006.

Did you know?

• Prom Meesawat is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. He first won in Korea in 2006 before claiming his second victory in Chinese Taipei in 2014.
• He is nicknamed ‘Big Dolphin’ due to his burly physique and because he hails from the coast town of Hua Hin in Thailand.
• Prom had received a sponsor’s invitation to play in the ADT Butra HeidelbergCement Brunei Championships last week. He defeated Japan’s Naoki Sekiko on the third play-off hole to win the event for his first ADT title.
• Prom, father of two, represented Thailand for the first time at the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf last November. He partnered good friend and fellow Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
• Prom got his season off to a great start when he secured a tied-fifth place finish at the season-opening Singapore Open in January. He also earned a coveted spot at The Open this July, thanks for his solid finish. It will be his second appearance at The Open.
• Prom also won the 20th Singha Thailand Masters on his domestic circuit last month.
• Danthai Boonma claimed his breakthrough victory on the Asian Tour in Singapore in 2015. He is also a one-time winner on the ADT in 2017.
• Danthai has won twice this season, one on his domestic circuit in February and one on the Japan Challenge Tour two weeks ago. His world ranking rose from 359^th at the start of the season to a current 285^th position.
• Aadil Bedi turned professional last October. He is only 18 years old.
• Bedi came through the Qualifying School in his first attempt and secured his Asian Tour card for 2019. He is playing in his second start on Tour this season.
• Bedi started practising and learning the initial strokes of golf when he was just four years old.
• Throughout his 13-year amateur career, Bedi has won 171 Medals and trophies. He has also represented India in all the Elite and Major Amateur matches of the world including Asian games, British Amateur, the Australian Masters of Amateur, Singapore Amateur and Eisenhower Cup, Ireland.
• Bedi represented India as an amateur at the 2018 Asian Games. He led the field for the first three days but eventually missed out on a podium finish on the final day, finishing in 13th place.
• Austen Truslow of the United States topped the class at the Qualifying School last December. He is known for his one-handed chipping technique.
• Under the influence of his father, Truslow got interested in golf when he was four and he lives in Florida.