Dubai: Thailand’s Prom Meesawat needs to win this weekend’s inaugural Asian Tour season-ending Dubai Open in order to finish second in the Order of Merit and qualify for the World Golf Championships.
The 30-year-old is currently third in the Order of Merit and €74,912 (Dh432,410) behind India’s Anirban Lahiri in the money list. He hopes to leapfrog Lahiri and earn his right to play at Doral in March, provided he can overcome a back injury.
“I have to win the tournament this week,” he said. “That’s my goal. That’s why I’m trying to get my back and myself ready for the four-round tournament, to win and jump over Anirban this week.
“With the way I’m playing right now, I’m very confident of my game — I’ve been playing good for a couple months. So I hope I can do it this week,” said Meesawat, who has six top ten finishes and one win this season.
He added victory here to qualify for the World Golf Championships would be a dream come true.
“It would mean a lot because if I qualify to big events and play well I can get invites onto PGA Tour or Major events. That’s what I’m trying to do, to take my career up to the next level,” he said.
Meesawat sustained his back injury at the Kings Cup in Thailand last month, but said he was on the mend.
“I had an injury in my lower back, but it’s feeling better now. When I played the first nine holes [in Thailand] it felt OK, but after that it felt very locked up on my left side, so I had a lot of stretching and physio work to do here, but after that it’s feeling a lot better.
“Hopefully it’s going to be getting better and better during the week. I’m almost 100 per cent right now, so it’s going to be very good fun.”
Even if he does stave off injury this week, however, Meesarat said his unfamiliarity with the Els Club course at Dubai Sports City could prove a challenge.
“It’s going to be an advantage for the guys who are hitting very long and can reach the par fives,” he said. “But the key is still on putting — you have to put the ball in a good position in order to make the putt. All the greens are elevated and sloped. If you don’t hit a good approach, I’m sure you will get in trouble in the sand. If the green is getting firm, it’s going to be very difficult to get close to the pin.”
Meesawat added that, despite coming to a new course in need of victory, he wasn’t overawed by the job at hand.
“Every tournament I go to, I just go out and enjoy it. I don’t expect to win the tournament this week, it’s another high expectation of me. So I’ll just go out there and enjoy it, that’s the key.”
