Ben Leong feels honoured and humbled after being selected by reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Gavin Green as his partner for the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf from November 22 to 25.
Leong and Green will represent Malaysia for the first time in the 56-man field which will be played at The Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne where players will challenge for the US$7 million on offer.
They will be among the top teams in the tournament which includes defending champions Thorbjørn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark, Australian duo Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith and Englishmen Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter.
Other Asian countries in the elite field are China’s Haotong Li and Ashun Wu, India’s Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban Lahiri, Thai duo Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Prom Meesawat, Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira and Hideto Tanihara and Korea’s Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim.
Leong, 32, was surprised to receive the call from Green, who was the last player to qualify for the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf.
“Gavin started off by asking what I’m doing on November 19 and I asked if he is getting married? He said he made it to the World Cup and asked if I would like to join him. I told him don’t ask. It is the World Cup and I definitely want to play in the event!” said Leong.
“I feel honoured and humbled. I didn’t expect to play in the World Cup. I had to reschedule but it is a good thing because it is a World Cup and I’ve heard a lot of good things about the golf course,” he added.
Leong won his first Asian Tour title in 2008 before suffering from a disc prolapse in 2012. He has shown signs of returning to his best form in the last few years and hopes to repay Green’s faith in him.
They have gone head-to-head on the local circuit in the past but Leong believes their friendly rivalry has helped them understand each other’s games better.
“We played quite a few practice rounds and went head-to-head a couple of times on the local circuit. I remember I lost to him once in a play-off and got one back from him in another. We know each other’s strength and weaknesses.
“We haven’t played together before in this format so we have a lot of work to do before the tournament starts. This is the first time as a professional that I’m playing in a team format. There’s a lot to learn,” said Leong.
He remembers watching Tiger Woods at the World Cup of Golf in 1999 when Malaysia hosted the prestigious tournament at The Mines Resort Golf Club.
“I remember when Malaysia staged the event and Tiger Woods was there. The crowd was huge! All the Malaysian golfers were there to watch him play. At that time, I didn’t think I could ever represent Malaysia in the World Cup because there are so many good players in Malaysia so I’m really proud to be selected,” said Leong.
The ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf is one of five tournaments that are co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, joining the four events in the World Golf Championships series as tournaments which the Federation oversees. The International Federation of PGA Tours is an organization made up of all Tours from across the globe including the PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, the PGA of Australia, the Asian Tour, South African Tour and more.
Tickets are now on sale and ticket options range from Wednesday practice round tickets starting at $16.00, single-day competitive round tickets starting at $24.00 and tickets to the upgraded MacKenzie Club (Thurs-Sun) starting at $80.00. Weekly tickets are also available for $96, with a MacKenzie Club option priced at $295. Fans are encouraged to secure their tickets early in order to save.
Ticket buyers are reminded that youth under the age of 16 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult. To purchase tickets or find more information on ticket options, fans can log on to www.WorldCupofGolf.com.
For more information about the 2018 ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf, please visit WorldCupofGolf.com
