Stars set to feature in Selangor

The Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters will showcase top Asian Tour Order of Merit players at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club from July 20-23.

The stellar line-up will be spearheaded by Bangladeshi sensation Siddikur, who is currently second on the rankings. The 26-year-old enjoyed a solid front half of the season with two top-three finishes, one other top-10 and did not miss a single cut from eight starts.
Other stars who will head full steam to the RM1.2 million (approximately US$400,000) event include South Africa's Jbe Kruger, Thai stars Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Chinnarat Phadungsil and veteran Prayad Marksaeng and India's newcomer Sujjan Singh.
Siddikur, who grew up as a ball boy in Dhaka, emerged as the top Asian performer at the Maybank Malaysian Open in joint eighth place in April and he will be determined to add a second Asian Tour victory to his haul following his winning breakthrough at the Brunei Open last year.
"I'm getting better and my confidence level is still high. I'm still working very hard at my game to keep improving," said Siddikur.
All eyes will also be on Kruger, who is presently fourth on the rankings after a string of impressive performances.
The 25-year-old from Bloemfontein was equal seventh at the star-studded Ballantine's Championship in Korea, third in the ICTSI Philippine Open and fifth at the recent Queen's Cup in Thailand. He also produced a top-10 at the Italian Open recently.
With three runner-up finishes last season which helped him to 19th place on the rankings, Kruger is eager to get onto the winner's podium on the Asian Tour after his close misses over the past two years.
"Form is on my side. It has been on my side the last few months. I just need to get the putter into the hole and I'm going to win. It definitely gives me experience and it definitely helps me contend week in and week out and it helps me to be mentally stronger than I used to be," said Kruger.
Fifth-ranked Kiradech will be a familiar face to Malaysian fans at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters, which is celebrating its fourth year on the Asian Tour Schedule.
The big-hitting Thai, nicknamed Asia's John Daly due to his grip it-and-rip it style of play, has come close to winning in Malaysia previously, where he was second in the Selangor Masters in 2009 and third at the Malaysian Open in 2010.
Kiradech broke through with his maiden win on the Asian Tour at the SAIL Open earlier this season and a win at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters will be well celebrated as the final round falls on his 22nd birthday.
"I've waited two years for this (win) and I'm very proud of myself. I learned a lot from my years on the Asian Tour," said Kiradech, who is a former world junior champion.
Thailand's constant supply of Tour champions saw the emergence of Chinnarat, who played his way into the history books in 2005 when he became the youngest ever Asian Tour winner at the age of 17 years old.
Six years on, the power-packed Chinnarat has now won a total of three titles and two solid top-10s this season which have pushed him to seventh place on the merit list indicate that he will be a contender at Kota Permai.
The sweet-swinging Prayad continues to prove he is becoming better with age where at 45, he is showing no signs of slowing down. He contended at the inaugural Indonesian Masters in April before finishing seventh and came close to a seventh career victory where he was beaten into second place at the Queen's Cup by countryman Chawalit Plaphol last month.
India's newest talent to emerge on the scene is Sujjan Singh, a Qualifying School graduate. A tied fifth outing at the season-opening Avantha Masters, co-sanctioned with the European Tour, has set him on his way to a full card for 2012.
With the pressure of keeping his card off shoulders, the 30-year-old, who is a former state squash champion, will be free-wheeling his game in search of a maiden title at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.