Not easy for Mardan to retain title

WHEN Mardan Mamat tees off at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters tomorrow, he will find himself in a new position - having to defend a major title on home soil.

He said: 'It's something special - defending your title in your home town.

'I'm happy to be back but I've to learn more about being in this position, it's different.'

That is not all.

He will also be out to prove that last year's win was not a fluke.

Then, clinching the Singapore Masters made Mardan the first Singaporean to triumph on the European Tour.

While his historic win placed him in the spotlight, it has not catapulted him to stardom.

He said: 'My life has not changed. I still can't get new sponsors.

'Maybe the win is not good enough. I've got to work harder, win more.'

Since that victory, he has made only one top-10 finish, coming in third at the Bangkok Airways Open last June.

He missed the cut in eight of the other 15 tournaments, including last week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket.

But he has chosen not to dwell on those misses.

He quipped: 'Did I miss those cuts? I don't know about that.'

Then, on a serious note, he added: 'I'm taking things positively now, thinking only about things that give me confidence.'

He also denied that he has been plagued by personal problems, which were highlighted in a report during last month's Indonesia Open.

He said: 'That was a misunderstanding. Nothing happened. I have no personal problems.'

Two other Ps - putting and positive thinking - hold the key to his title defence at this week's US$1.1million (S$1.7 million) event.

He said: 'I'm striking the ball well but need to make a couple of putts to deliver a good result.'

Indeed.

Mardan leads the Asian Tour in the Greens in Regulation, a statistic to determine on how many holes a player had the ball on the green in the prescribed number of strokes.

However, he is 132nd out of 137 when it comes to putting average.

He is confident he can deal with the pressure of being the home-favourite, saying 'It's always nice to be playing at home.

'I think I've been playing so many times in front of the home crowd so, by now, I should know how to overcome it.'

Retaining his Masters crown at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club will be much tougher this year.

The 204-man field is not only bigger, but also better than the previous year's.

Star names include world No 18 David Howell of England, his compatriot Lee Westwood, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, Wales' Ian Woosnam and Japan's Shingo Katayama.

But Singapore's top golfer remains undaunted.

He said: 'My preparations are getting along well. If I can hole the putts, I'll be able to do well and move up.'

alfoo@sph.com.sg