March 1, 2017: Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Scott Hend hopes to challenge for a maiden World Golf Championships (WGC) title when he steps up to the tee at the WGC-Mexico Championship which starts on Thursday.
The 43-year-old Hend, who holds a total of nine Asian Tour victories, qualified for the year’s first WGC event after becoming the first Australian to top the Merit rankings on the region’s premier Tour last season.
Hend will spearhead the Asian Tour’s challenge at the Club De Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City alongside countryman Marcus Fraser, who secured his spot after finishing one rung below Hend on the 2016 money list.
“Marcus and I are here thanks to our top-two finishes on the Asian Tour Order of Merit last year. It’s great that we get two spots from the Asian Tour to come into this week’s WGC event. It’s good to be able to give ourselves a chance of possibly winning the WGC,” said Hend.
“We got a lot to learn from this golf course. There are a few things you need to figure out, obviously how far the ball is going and where the wind is coming from, distances between the morning and the afternoon, etc. It’s a little tricky but I think it’s a scorable golf course,” added the father of two.
Asian Tour members Sam Brazel of Australia, Jeunghun Wang of Korea and American David Lipsky will feature in the WGC event by virtue of being in the top-10 of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai ranking.
“I am so happy to be here in Mexico playing in the WGC event. I am sure it will be a good experience for me. I just want to enjoy this week. The course feels quite different but I am excited to play on this type of greens.
“We only got a few Asian players here this week. I am glad to be one of them,” said the 21-year-old Wang, who claimed his third European Tour title at the Qatar Masters last month.
Asian Tour Release
