He is 42 years of age and never played better.

Reigning ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year Matthew Millar is part of a 15-strong Australasian contingent making their 2019 Asian Tour debuts at the SMBC Singapore Open this week on the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club.

Millar has spent sparse time in Asia in recent years but received an invitation to play in Singapore due to his stellar play in 2018 that sees him enter his 21st year as a professional with a career-high ranking of 205 in the world.

Winner of the Rebel Sport Masters this time 12 months ago, Millar made a late play for the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit courtesy of top-five finishes at both the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship, eventually finishing second behind Queensland’s Jake McLeod.

As McLeod was already exempt due to his finish on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2018, Millar was extended a tournament invitation as the next highest player on the Australasian moneylist.

Millar continued his excellent form from 2018 – albeit in a vastly different format – by taking out the Blitz Golf event played at Curlewis Golf Club earlier this month and will have the opportunity to play two World Golf Championship events this year courtesy of his runner-up finish on the Order of Merit.

Like Millar, Glenelg Blitz Golf champion and rookie professional Zach Murray will play in Singapore this week by invitation as will Dimi Papadatos, who will likely spend the majority of the year playing in Europe.

Former European Tour regulars Marcus Fraser and Andrew Dodt are teeing it up in Singapore after finishing inside the top-62 on the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit with Daniel Nisbet, Terry Pilkadaris, Kiwi Ben Campbell, Jake Higginbottom and Travis Smyth also retaining their cards for the 2019 season.

After a year on the European Tour Jason Norris returns to Asia due to his win at the 2017 Fiji International while Matthew Griffin, Won Joon Lee, Anthony Quayle and David Bransdon have all taken advantage of the co-sanctioning with the Japan Golf Tour to also start their year in Singapore.

Frank Phillips claimed the inaugural Singapore Open in 1961 to start a proud history of Australian winners, Ted Ball, Terry Gale, Peter Fowler, Paul Moloney, Kenny Druce, Steven Conran and Adam Scott all among the list of past champions.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia returns to defend the title he won by five shots last year with England pair Paul Casey and Matthew Fitzpatrick the other headliners at Sentosa.