Asian Tour card at stake for Airil

22 October 2009 , By The Star

JOHOR BARU: Malaysia’s Airil Rizman is determined to finish strongly in the Iskandar Johor Open to help secure his Asian Tour card for next season.

Airil will have inaugural winner Artemio Murakami of the Philippines for company in the attempt to keep their Tour cards with good results in the tournament, which begins tomorrow at the Royal Johor Country Club.

Since winning the 2007 Pakistan Open, Airil has hit a few road bumps that have left him in 101st position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. The 31-year-old will need to make a surge into the top 65 to safely keep his card for the coming season.

“The next three events should determine if I can keep my card. The Iskandar Open is one of them. I plan to give it my all,” he said yesterday.

The other two events are the Singapore Open next weekend and the Hong Kong Open next month.

Airil is slowly showing signs of a return to form, making five cuts in his last seven tournaments. But he knows that he needs to shift into top gear to avoid playing in the Asian Tour Qualifying School in Thailand next year.

“I am happy with the rate I am going and I have a good feeling that the good rounds are coming,” he said.

Murakami has been struggling with a cold putter this season but the Filipino will be inspired to emulate his victory of two years ago.

“It is nice to return to where you first won as I have a lot of fond memories here,” said Murakami, who is currently in 72nd position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

“I am hitting quite good but I have been struggling with my putting the entire year. The key is to improve on my putting and give myself a chance.”

Murakami, whose best finish this season was a tied fifth place in the Indonesia President Invitational, will be banking on his course knowledge to put him in contention for his second win on the Asian Tour.

“I feel that this course is one of the toughest on the Asian Tour because the greens are quite grainy and most of us have a hard time on them. But I like this course a lot and it is like my home course. So I am confident,” he said.