FIVE-TIME British Open champion Peter Thomson, who played in the Inaugural Malayan Open in 1962, yesterday made his presence felt at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.Back then, Thomson competed in the Malayan Open Golf Championship which attracted a strong field of 76 pro fessionals including 1963 British Open champion Bob Charles, Taiwanese Hsieh Yung Yo and Japan’s Hideyo Sugimoto.
“It’s quite an impressive line-up at the 50th Malaysian Open this year.
“With Charl Schwartzel coming off the Masters at Augusta and the line-up is definitely a strong one. There are 22 local professionals playing, that is more than what you would normally get back in those days,” said Thomson.
The 81-year old shared a joke or two with members of the media while reminiscing about his Open wins by adding, “The third time I won the Open, I went down to the car dealership because I really wanted a Jaguar but they said I didn’t have enough money. So that just meant I had to go back out and win another Open.”
Shaaban Hussin, also a Maybank ambassador, is looking forward to the tough challenges that will present itself at the Malaysian Open. Aside from that, Shaaban is hoping he will get his chance to play alongside his idol, Rory McIlroy.
“I have to step up my game if I want to play alongside the greats. But whatever it is, I’m not too nervous about the Malaysian Open because I won’t be the sole Malaysian representative. I just need to adjust my game to the greens because it’s fast, long and tough.”
