Golf: Mardan sees flight upgrade as good sign

Singapore's No. 1 pro Mardan Mamat is hoping for another pleasant surprise when he tees up at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland on Thursday.

The 45-year-old got his week off to a good start when he received an upgrade to business class on Singapore Airlines.

He now believes it could be a sign of better things to come as he bids to improve his record and hopefully notch his fourth Asian Tour win at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, reported asiantour.com.

"It's always nice to come back to Switzerland to play in this prestigious event. I got upgraded to business class on my way here and maybe that's a good sign for what is to come this week," said Mardan.

The Singaporean finished tied for 49th at the Omega European Masters last year, but is confident of a better showing at the only tournament on European soil to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

"I feel that I can do better than last year. There have been a few changes to the golf course since then but I believe I'm ready," said Mardan.

The Omega European Masters marks the start of the second half of the Asian Tour season and, with a blockbuster schedule coming up, Mardan is relishing the challenges ahead.

"I would like to finish inside the top 10 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and hopefully a good performance this week will kickstart everything," said Mardan.

He has been drawn with Spain's Pablo Larrazabal and Portugal's Ricardo Santos in the first two rounds.

The Asian Tour will be represented by no fewer than 25 Asian Tour winners, including Merit champions, India's Jeev Milkha Singh and Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant and Thongchai Jaidee.

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