Star-studded cast for Masters

12/08/1998

DEFENDING champion Christian Pena of the US and European Tour player Jeev
Milka Singh of India are among star-studded cast who will feature in the
US$200,000 Volvo Masters tournament at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club
beginning tomorrow.
Pena fired a final-round 69 last year and won by a single shot from
Taiwan's Hsieh Yu-Shu.
Jeev Milka, a three-time winner on the Omega Tour, is tipped to be among
the contenders.
Jeev finished 22nd in last week's German Open in Berlin.
His best finish on European Tour was in the English Open where he was
tied for eighth position.
But the man to watch is Scotland's Simon Yates.
Yates secured his first professional victory on the Omega Tour last
weekend with a one-stroke victory over South Africa's Des Terbalance at
the Sabah Masters.
"It was a fantastic course in Sabah but the weather was too hot for my
liking. Right now I have lost some of my swing and feel extremely tired
after the uphill walks but I am confident of similar success," said Yates.
Yates, winner of the 1994 German PGA championship is 15th on the Omega
Order of Merit after eight events. The leader is Edward Fryatt of England,
who has won US$87,000 after only three events.
Pena's form this year indicates that he will have a tough time defending
his title, what with the field being the strongest in the four-year
history of the tournament. Pena, 29, has had a bad year and his best
finish was 16th at the Volvo China Open. He is 48th on the money list.
Malaysian golfers have yet to register a victory after four attempts. P.
Gunasegaran is the best-ranked local with US$6,990 in winnings while Ali
Kadir was the highest-placed Malaysian in the Masters after finishing tied
23rd.
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