Pattaya: Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee hopes to return to winning ways at the Royal Cup which tees off today at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.
The US$500,000 event is being held in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun who celebrates his 66th birthday on Saturday.
Thongchai, 48, is aiming to end a title drought since his last win two years ago in France.
The last time he tasted success on home soil was in 2006, and he is relishing the opportunity to contend for the prestigious trophy against a number of young Asian Tour stars.
The Royal Cup will be Thongchai's first tournament in Thailand this season after playing mostly in Europe where he enjoyed one top-10 result.
Defending champion Shiv Kapur returns to his favourite hunting ground where he won the Royal Cup last year for his third victory in 2017.
Young Thai Phachara Khongwatmai, 19, hopes to shine in front of the home crowd.
He is working with his new coach Jamie, and will adopt a patient approach as he searches for his first Asian Tour title.
Other contenders include India's Gaganjeet Bhullar, Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat and Prom Meesawat and American John Catlin, the first player to win twice on the Asian Tour this season.
"I feel great to be back home after playing in Europe all year. The Royal Cup is an important tournament for Thai players and I just want to show my support for home events. I want this tournament to come back every year and provide opportunities for young professionals," said Thongchai, who has won 13 Asian Tour titles and claimed the circuit's No.1 spot three times.
"My year hasn't been bad. I have been travelling so much but I am still enjoying the competition, so I still give my best no matter where I am.
"I admit it is harder to win tournaments now with all the young players coming up so I just try and enjoy myself and my time on tour. The most important thing is to enjoy playing at my age.
"I've played so many years and with all my experience I want to share it with all these younger players. I watched them grow from young juniors and they all just need more experience if they want to start winning tournaments."
Kapur said: "It has been a pretty frustrating couple of months with my injuries, so to come back to a place where I have had success is great.
"I am not at 100 percent right now. I have tendinitis so it doesn't go away overnight. I'd like to block it [injury] out of my mind and just play my game. It doesn't affect me in my golf swing so my results do not get affected.
"I have a bit of an advantage knowing that I have done it before. Walking through those doors just gives me a spring in my step."
Phachara said: "I am happy to be at home after travelling so much around Europe. All my friends are here and I grew up playing golf with all these Thai players.
"I don't think about winning when I go into a tournament, whether it is an Asian Tour event or a European Tour event. I just try and stick with my process and try my best every time. The grass and the weather are so different in Europe so it is a huge transition for me. But I was born in Thailand and I have played golf for close to 10 years now so I know I can do well on Thai courses.
"My game is better because I started seeing a new coach in Europe. I've been seeing him for close to five weeks now and my swing is sounder since we started working together and overall, I am very confident with my game and excited to put up some good scores."