Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yih-shin is desperate to roll out the right numbers to turn a luckless season around when he defends his title at the Venetian Macao Open next month.
After enjoying his career best year when he finished 14th on the 2011 Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, the 35-year-old’s career has spiraled downwards where he has missed 10 cuts from 11 starts this season.
Chan’s biggest problem has been a surprising lack of consistency where one good round will be followed by a poor round.
But with an impending return to the Macao Golf and Country Club, venue of his second Tour victory, from October 11-14, he hopes the good vibes will rub off his game as he seeks a return to top form.
“I haven’t been playing well and it is disappointing,” acknowledged Chan, who has accumulated only US$1,171 this season which is a far cry from his haul of US$192,623 last year.
“Somehow I’ve been feeling tired after playing in a few tournaments. I don’t know why. But every good player does not make this a reason. Good players will continue to practice hard and earn more wins instead of making excuses.
“I need to work harder on my game and if the putter gets going, then I know I can contend again. My season has been a mixed bag. There are days when I shoot under par and there are days when I blow up. That’s been the story for me. It is really disappointing but I have to work to keep improving,” he added.
Chan remembers his Macao win well as he had to dig deep to triumph on the final day.
“That was a really great win. I started the day with a double bogey but the turning point came when I birdied 12, 13 and 14. It was brilliant to have won the way I did. My putter really won the tournament for me. I putted so well for the whole week and it came together on the last day,” he said.
He knows that the key to a successful defence at the Venetian Macao Open will be on the greens.
“The Macao Golf and Country Club has very tricky greens. That’s why you need a hot putter to get the round going. It won’t be easy defending my title because I’m not in the best form but hopefully Macao will be the turning point in my season.”
The Venetian Macao Open is jointly organised by the Macao Sport Development Board and Macao Golf Association and sanctioned by the Asian Tour. The Venetian® Macao-Resort-Hotel is title sponsoring the tournament for the first time.
All four rounds will be beamed live on the Asian Tour’s global television platform which reaches over 200 nations and 650 million homes.
