Rattanon seeks more royal trophy at Queen's Cup

The 21-year-old secured his maiden Asian Tour title last month when he romped to a commanding start-to-finish win at the Thailand Open against the likes of reigning Order of Merit champion Scott Hend and 2013 Asian number one Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

With his confidence soaring sky high, Rattanon hopes a return to the holiday isle of Samui will lead him to another prestigious title. He will go head-to-head once again with title holder Hend and a stellar line-up which includes eight of the current top-10 players from the Order of Merit.

“I’m really feeling confident about my game and myself after winning the Thailand Open (last month). I also played well in the ADT Event in Phuket a week later (finished second),” said the Chanthaburi-born whose best result was at tied 14 th in 2014.

“ I’m feeling very confident about this week. I enjoyed the week off last week but I worked hard at my game too. I know this course here, you’ll need to hit good irons and hybrid shots as it’s a tough and narrow course. When the wind blows, it’s tough so you need to know the wind directions well,” said the in-form Rattanon who skipped the Thai PGA event in Khon Kaen last week to get fresh for the Samui event.

Second-ranked S.S.P Chawrasia of India, six-ranked Spaniard Carlos Pigem, Bangladeshi star Siddikur Rahman, who is a perennial contender in Samui, and another in-form Indian, Shiv Kapur are amongst those tipped to shine in the Queen’s Cup which is sponsored by Bangkok Airways and Sports Authority of Thailand.

After seeing hometown compatriot Chinnarat Phadungsil lift the inaugural Queen’s Cup back in 2009, Rattanon said winning on the Asian Tour soon became his dream which he achieved so convincingly at his national Open.

Straight-shooting Kapur, 34, will be amongst the top contenders as he surprisingly makes his debut in the Queen’s Cup. After ending a nearly 12 year wait for a second Asian Tour win at the Yeangder Heritage, he went on to finish runner-up behind Rattanon in the Thailand Open with a barnstorming final round of 63.

The 26-year-old Pigem is equally confident he can chase for a second Asian Tour title following a strong first half of the year where he posted three top-10s, including a runner-up finish in Myanmar. The ashing Spaniard also finished top-20 at the Queen’s Cup last year after missing the cut in his debut in 2015.

“Since I finished the tournament here last year, I have been looking forward to coming back to this beautiful island. Today, the feeling is even stronger. The prize money is up and I think it’ll be an interesting week. I’m feeling very excited about playing,” said the Spaniard one of the midway leaders last year.