Kuala Lumpur: Thongchai Jaidee is confident he can contend at the US$3 million Maybank Championship which starts today on one of his happy hunting grounds.
The 47-year-old Thai, the only man to win three Asian Tour Order of Merit titles, earned his first co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour victory at the Saujana Golf and Country Club back in 2004 and successfully defended his title in the following year.
With the 2004 triumph, he became the first Thai golfer to win a European Tour event.
Those victories propelled the former paratrooper into stardom and has since claimed six more European Tour titles.
He has won 13 Asian Tour titles, the second most after countryman Thaworn Wiratchant.
Ranked 60th in the world, Thongchai is keen to make a quick return into the world's top 50 with a win this week to gain exemptions into next month's WGC-Mexico Championship and the Masters in April.
Thongchai won the first of his Asian Tour-European Tour co-sanctioned title at Saujana in 2004, highlighted by a hole-in-one on the 16th hole during the final round for a two-shot win.
"I've won twice at Saujana in 2004 and 2005 which was very important for my career. That's why I love this golf course," Thongchai said yesterday.
"My life changed from here. On the last day in 2004, I made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole during the final round and I won by two shots. One shot changed my life. It made me who I am today. That's why I love coming back to Malaysia. It's like my second home. I have a lot of friends and fans' support here.
"A win this week will be nice as it can take me back into the top 50. That's why I would like to win this week. I will also get into the Masters. I think I have a good chance. I know the course well. I've won two times here. I'll be trying."
The other Thais in the tournament include 2013 champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jazz Janewattananond whose win at last week's Bangladesh Open earned him a spot in the Maybank Championship.
Jazz credited his two weeks stint as a monk for helping him overcome the challenging period in his career.
"I made peace with pressure and I guess the experience of being a monk helped. It helped me become a better person and I look at the world in a different perspective. I'm more positive towards everything now," said the 21-year-old star.
Meanwhile, a refreshed Marcus Fraser of Australia will be looking to successfully defend his crown this week.
Fraser, who finished second on the Asian Tour Order of Merit last season, is making his first appearance of 2017 on the Asian Tour and European Tour.
"It's always nice to come back as defending champion which I've not experienced too much throughout my career but it's nice when it does happen," he said.
"It's nice not only to be back in Malaysia but also at Saujana. I'm quite familiar with the golf course."
England's Lee Westwood, an Asian specialist with eight Asian Tour victories, is also tipped to be a contender.
The former world No.1 won at Saujana back in 1997 and was runner-up in the following year.
"Honestly I don't remember a lot about the win here 20 years ago. I just remember winning and being associated with Saujana for two or three great years in the middle of the 1990s. I actually lost here in a play-off in 1998 after the win in 1997 so I almost won back to back," he said.