Han and Chun reflect on Asian Amateur ahead of Open qualifying
For the inaugural Asian Amateur Champion, Han Chang-won, this week marks the start of a special month. On Wednesday 10 March, he will mount his challenge for a place on the Old Course at the 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews. Then, just under one month later, he will take his place in the field at Augusta for the 2010 Masters Tournament.
“I am very honoured to play for the qualifying for The Open Championship. It will be very tough to qualify, but I will try very hard. It will be a good experience for me, said Han. “Afterwards I will start preparing for the Masters.
“I am very excited to have the chance to play in the Masters and I really enjoyed the Asian Amateur and testing myself against the best amateurs in Asia Pacific. Since winning the Asian Amateur Championship, I have given many media interviews about winning the event. SBS, MBC and all the major TV networks have spoken to me. Many people have also sent me thank you messages and congratulations as well. It was been great to receive that support.
“As the defending champion, I of course want to win the title again,” he added. “If not me, I hope maybe another Korean player can win the title.
Eric Chun narrowly missed out on the Asian Amateur crown at Mission Hills in China but he, too, has fond memories of the Championship and is eager to make a strong Open Championship bid back home in Malaysia.
“It [The Asian Amateur Championship] was one of the best tournaments I have played in my life. It was really well set up and the sponsors were huge sponsors. The field was good, the course was good and the treatment was great. I felt like it was almost a professional tournament, but with an amateur field. It was a lot of fun playing it. I am glad I did, and I am glad I played well.
“It is real good to be back [in Malaysia]. I missed a lot of the food, there are a lot of familiar faces around and it is great to see them again. I have played this course [Saujana’s Palm Course] a couple of times growing up and it is nice to be back here to try and qualify for The Open,” said the 20-year-old, who secured his IFQ place by finishing as runner-up to Han at the 2009 Asian Amateur.
“Playing in The Open Championship is a huge thing in itself and playing at St Andrews? Wow, I grew up watching The Open there. I remember watching it there when Tiger Woods won. It would be sweet just to play at St Andrews and to play The Open at St Andrews would be really special.”
You can follow Han and Chun’s progress as they bid to earn a place at the 150th Anniversary Open Championship on Opengolf.com. Full scores and stories will be published on the website throughout the two days of competition.
