Malaysian veteran Danny Chia hopes to regain his drive
to make up for lost time at the US$8 million ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf when
the prestigious team competition starts on Thursday.

Chia will partner Nicholas Fung in the 28-nation team
event at Kingston Heath Golf Club, making his third appearance in the World Cup
following a lapse of 15 years when Malaysia last qualified in 2001.

"I didn’t really expect to play in the World Cup of
Golf again after being out of it for so long," said Chia today.

"At one stage this year, I was trying really hard to
catch Vijay Singh (of Fiji) in the world rankings as I knew I was close to him
and he was the last guy in. But I just missed out at the time of the qualifying
cut off and just didn’t think about after that. So it was just good news when
Vijay decided to pull out later and I got the call to play."

As the last team in the competition, World Cup
debutant Fung is certainly excited at the prospect of partnering his mentor and
close friend at Kingston Heath. They combined brilliantly at the EurAsia Cup in
January, earning two halve points for Team Asia.

Fung said: "It’s good being here for my first World
Cup. It’s been 15 years since Malaysia last played and teaming up with Danny is
great. It’s a good opportunity for us. We know each other’s game well as we
play practice rounds regularly on the Asian Tour," said Fung.

As we have spend so much time together, it’s easy to
get along well with Danny. We also combined really well in the EurAsia Cup, so
I guess that’s why he picked me. Danny is a good putter, so whenever I can,
I’ll make sure I put him in a good position on the greens."

Chia was in awe of Kingston Heath, saying that the
famous sandbelt course in Melbourne will test every club in the bag. That
unfortunately is bad news as the 43-year-old, who is a two-time Asian Tour
winner, has struggled with his driving.

"It’s a great golf course. You pretty much need every
shot in the bag. There are some short and tight holes, there are some good par
threes and some long par fours. There’s a bit of everything here," said Chia.

"However, my game hasn’t been great. I’ve had problems
with my driving the past few months. It’s something I need to overcome this
week. I’ll probably sacrifice distance on most holes and go with the hybrid
club to make it easy for Nicholas in the foursomes (alternate shot). I’ll still
try to work out the driver which I’ve just lost some confidence with it."

In Fung though, Chia has a partner who is on good
form. The younger Malaysian was unlucky to lose in a play-off at the Resorts
World Manila Masters two weeks ago, a result which pushed him up to 14^th
place on the current Asian Tour Order of Merit.

"Nicholas has been playing well. I’m always impressed
with the way he plays. I feel like he is someone I can rely on in a team format
and I feel comfortable with him," said Chia. "He’s very consistent. He’s
probably the straightest driver I’ve seen on Tour. It will help me a lot with
my current problem."

Fung is ready to chip in for the team. Playing for the
nation this week is something proud for the 26-year-old who is ready to put in
every effort to ensure a good week at the World Cup of Golf.

"We’ve got the Malaysian flag on our driver covers
this week," said Fung.

"But I’m not going to put expectations on ourselves.
It’s my first time here. We want to go out there, do our best and aim to have
some fun on the golf course."

The
2016 World Cup will be the 58th staging of this event. For ticket information
and to follow all of the news, player features and more as the event
approaches, the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf web-site is http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/isps-handa-world-cup-of-golf.html.