Marcus Both will be looking to put a disappointing 2015 behind him by notching back to back wins in this week’s final event of the Asian Tour schedule, the Philippines Open.
Marcus Both will be looking to put a disappointing 2015 behind him by notching back to back wins in this week’s final event of the Asian Tour schedule, the Philippines Open.
Both was an emotional winner in 2014 where the two stroke victory convinced him to continue pursuing the dream of playing professionally after he had earlier toyed with the idea of quitting the game.
A three time winner on the Asian circuit Both has endured a difficult 2015 season and stands 136th on the money list, not enough to keep his card without a last ditch effort this week.
The 36-year-old knows all too well the ups and downs of playing the game for a living and told the Asian Tour’s website this week his game was on the improve and he is hopeful of a successful title defence.
"My game hasn’t been good but I’ve rectified most of the issues which I’ve been battling with," he said this week.
My game feels in great shape although the scores have not really shown it.
I just need to stay comfortable and start shooting some low scores.
"My short game at the start of the year has been very poor. Once I sort of managed to fix that then my long game suffered a little bit.
"This is a difficult game. It is tough to get everything firing on all cylinders at the same time."
Both will have to overcome not only swing issues but a change of venue if he is to hoist the trophy again this week, the tournament moving from the Wack Wack Golf Club to the Luisita Golf and Country Club.
"It feels weird defending on a different golf course because I played very well at Wack Wack," he said.
"I’ve done a little bit of research, in fact, one of my friends has been to the Luisita course and he posted a lot of photos on Facebook! "It looks great and I’m very excited.
At the end of the day, we are fighting for the same trophy and I’ll be honoured to hold it up two years in a row. I’m sure everybody will go there with the same goal."
Both is one of 11 Australians in the field with several battling to ensure they retain playing privileges for next year’s Tour.
Adam Groom currently lies 59th on the Order of Merit with only the top 60 to retain their cards, Scott Barr with even more work to do sitting at 66th.
Terry Pilkadaris looks to be safe for 2016 as he presently sits 45th on the earnings table but will be keen to cash a decent cheque the week before christmas.
Others in the field this week include Josh Younger and Matt Giles who will both need something special as they sit 94th and 92nd respectively on the Order of Merit.
Jake Stirling, Unho Park, Peter Stojanovski, Jarrod Freeman, and David Gleeson round out the Australian challenge.