Shah Alam, July 8: The RM1.2 million (appox. US$400,000) Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters continued to attract a beeline of top professionals with former Asian Tour number ones Jyoti Randhawa of India and Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand confirming their participation at the event later this month.

Randhawa and Thaworn, who won the prestigious Order of Merit crown in 2002 and 2005 respectively, have a combined 20 career titles on the region’s elite circuit and will be amongst the top names at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club.

Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, a five-time Asian Tour champion, Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul and talented Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar will also feature in the marquee tournament from July 20 to 23, 2011

The 39-year-old Randhawa, who has eight career titles but is winless since 2009, has produced several strong performances this season with top-10s at the Panasonic Open and SAIL Open on home soil.

He was also tied 16th at the recent Queen’s Cup in Thailand, which has placed him in 29th position on the Order of Merit.

A return to Kota Permai will be the perfect tonic for the Indian to attempt a ninth victory as he triumphed at the venue in the 2004 Volvo Masters of Asia.

A multitude of rising stars may have broken through the ranks on the Asian Tour in recent years but the 44-year-old Thaworn is still producing stellar performances to maintain his status as one of the best players in the region.

He finished third in last season’s Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters which gave him a confidence boost to claim a 12th victory at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taipei.

Like Randhawa, the Thai veteran has also won previously at Kota Permai. He is currently 16th on the Merit list and will be aiming for another solid performance to extend his superb track record of never finishing outside the top-15 since 2003.

Since the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters joined the Asian Tour Schedule in 2008, the tournament has proven to be a pivotal platform for players to stake their claim to stardom.

In 2008, Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand was outduelled by Malaysia’s Ben Leong but he recovered later in the season with back-to-back victories in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Noh Seung-yul of Korea finished tied fifth in the 2009 edition and in the following year, he won the Maybank Malaysian Open en route to becoming the youngest Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who settled for second place in the 2009 Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters, put the disappointing experience to good use when he claimed his first victory at the SAIL Open in India earlier this year. – www.asiantour.com