Malaysia’s Arie Irawan hopes marital bliss will translate into better results on the golf course when he contends at the inaugural Sarawak Championship which starts on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Arie married Marina Malek in May, and his wife will be on his bag this week at the US$300,000 Asian Tour tournament staged at the scenic Damai Golf and Country Club.
Arie, an Asian Development Tour (ADT) regular where he has won two titles, hopes to repeat the chemistry he shares with his wife this week after they linked perfectly on the PGA Tour China Series last month which resulted in a tied fourth finish.
He will be among the strong Malaysian challengers this week which includes Nicholas Fung, Ben Leong and Airil Rizman, who are all Asian Tour champions.
Asian Tour rookie Viraj Madappa is determined to turn the corner at the Sarawak Championship in hopes of retaining his Asian Tour card for 2019. The 20-year-old Indian earned his Tour card through Qualifying School earlier this year but has yet to hit top form where his best result is a tied 43rd place finish at the AB Bank Bangladesh Open.
Indonesia’s Rory Hie is feeling good vibes ahead of the Sarawak Championship. He believes his game suits the Damai course layout and will be aiming to launch a title assault.
