Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Gavin Green is ready to fly the flag for Malaysia when he tees off for his debut Major appearance at The 147th Open at CarnoustieĀ on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Green, who sealed his place by winning the prestigious Merit title last season, is the third and youngest Malaysian, following Iain Steel (1996) and Danny Chia (2005, 2008 and 2010), to qualify for the worldās oldest Major.
āIām excited, of course! You can feel the buzz in the air and Iām just going to go out there, try to enjoy myself and do the best that I can. Iām just trying to stay a little grounded and not get too excited.
āI have my entire support team here with me including my swing coach, my mental coach and my physio. My dad will be on the bag for me and thatās good as weāve been working together pretty well the past few events,ā said Green, who is the only Malaysian in the field this week.
Prior to turning professional in 2015, Green has enjoyed an illustrious career which saw him become the first amateur to win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) following his victory in 2014.
He added two more wins to his successful exploits on the regionās secondary circuit in 2016 and eventually finished second on the final Order of Merit to earn his Asian Tour card for what would be a breakout year for him in 2017.
After notching four top-10 results, which included three runner-up finishes, Green broke through at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters before going on to lift the 2017 Order of Merit crown, thanks to a seasonās haul of US$582,463.
āItās very humbling to be able to represent Malaysia in a Major like The Open. I am very happy to have the opportunity to do so and I hope that I can continue to make the country proud.
āWhenever I see the Malaysian flag flying in the tournaments that I play in, I will feel very privileged to be able to represent the country,ā added the young Malaysian.
Coming off a tied-19th place finish at the Scottish Open last week, Green is relishing the challenge of playing in his first Major championship. He will have his father, Gary, on his bag and his mother, brother and grandmother supporting him from outside the ropes when he vies for top honours this week.
āWalking up the 18th and seeing the famous leaderboards is pretty special! We stood on the 18th green a bit and just took in the peaceful atmosphere and I could just imagine how fantastic it would be when the stands are full of spectators!
āThe courseās impressive! When the wind blows, it will be very challenging. Playing in Europe has definitely been an eye opener. You learn to appreciate the game so much more as you learn to handle the different courses.Ā I am definitely practicing harder and improving on the variety of shots I have in the bag,ā Green said.
Green will feature in the elite field alongside Indiaās Shubhankar Sharma and Anirban, as well as Thailandās Danthai Boonma, Jazz Janewattananond and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, highest-ranked Asian Tour player in 30th position on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
