Kuala Lumpur: Bo Van Pelt will be aiming for a CIMB Classic double, but he is wary of the elite field comprising Major champions and talented Asian Tour winners who will feature at the event that starts on Thursday.
Van Pelt, winner of the 2011 edition, will contend for the $7 million (Dh25.7 million) prize purse against World No 3 Phil Mickelson and fellow Major champions Bubba Watson and Keegan Bradley at the challenging Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
K.J. Choi, current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, an in-form Scott Hend of Australia and Siddikur of Bangladesh will also feature in the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGA Tour.
“I think you look at the strength of the field this week, a lot of guys came over. Guys have heard this is a great event the last couple of years and I think that’s why you see the strength of the field,” said Van Pelt, ranked 44th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
He is not worried about the tropical Malaysian heat and high humidity.
“I live in Oklahoma, so it gets pretty hot in the summer there, so it wasn’t that big a stretch for me to deal with humidity and this amount of sunshine. So, you know, you just drink lots of water and take your time and listen to your body. Everybody will get through it,” he said.
Bo reckons that accurate drives will be the key to success.
“It looks like you need to drive the ball well. The golf course looks tight off the tee. If you go offline, you can definitely get penalised. It looks like there’s a lot of uphill and downhill. There is a lot of change in elevation. So it’s going to be critical to try to control your distances and get the distance right which will be a challenge for everybody this week,” added the 38-year-old.
