Thongchai Jaidee is relishing the opportunity to tee it up alongside Tiger Woods in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament on Thursday.
Thai hoping for best possible 40th birthday present
Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee is relishing the opportunity to tee it up alongside Tiger Woods in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament on Thursday.
The Asian Tour number one will partner the world number one and Volvo World Match Play winner Ross Fisher in the opening two rounds at Sheshan International Golf Club.
Jaidee will turn 40 on Sunday and is hoping he can crown a memorable week with victory in Asia's first staging of a World Golf Championships event.
"This is a very big event. It's important for Asia and myself," he said.
"I'm turning 40 this week but birthdays are not important to Thai people. We'll keep it quiet. If I have time, we'll have a party when I get home. A good party will be to win the tournament on Sunday!
"I'm looking forward to playing with Tiger. Last week, I played with Phil Mickelson in Singapore and this week I'll play with the world number one. I'll try to enjoy it as it'll be the first time I'm playing with Tiger.
"I hope to play well and enjoy the experience. I'm sure there will be a lot of people because of Tiger. But I'm going to concentrate on my game and look for a good week."
Thongchai has been on top of his game this season with victories in Indonesia and Korea to remain on course for an unprecedented third Asian Tour's Order of Merit crown.
Milestone
While he will hit a milestone with his 40th birthday, Jaidee insists he is only getting better with age and has the game to win a major, and for that matter, the WGC-HSBC Champions this week.
"I don't think about my age. I'm just trying to improve my game, get my body stronger. That's very important as you have to think about the future," added Jaidee, who holds the most wins in Asia with 12 titles.
"I'm working physically harder now than before, running for 45 minutes a day for about 7km and doing weight training regularly as well. My game has improved a lot.
"Having a chance at the British Open in July (where he eventually finished 13th) was good for me. You'll never know who will win. Sometimes, you need luck. All you need is one good week to win a big tournament. Just look at Yang Yong-eun. He had one good week at the PGA Championship and he won. I'll try this week," he added.
Another incentive for Jaidee is to improve on his world ranking of 60th place and break into the top-50 by the end of the year, which will secure him appearances at the four Majors in 2010.
Due to the strength of this week's field, the winner is expected to receive 68 world ranking points, the highest ever awarded to a tournament winner in Asia.
"If I play well, I can get possibly break into the top-50 which is my goal. That gives me a lot of motivation. Singapore was tough with the weather delays which made it quite tiring but this week should be good. I'm looking forward to it," said the Thai, who finished tied 14th last week.
