KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Ben Leong reckons he has put in the best preparation for his debut at the US$7 million CIMB Classic this week.

“Just light practice and the rest was just doing my laundry, paying bills because I was away for three weeks and had catch-up to do. I think it is a good distraction. Just don’t overthink my golf game, which I think was the problem before. I’m fresher mentally,” said the 29-year-old.

Leong certainly had problems to deal with in recent years. After winning his maiden Asian Tour title in 2008, a back injury in 2012 derailed his burgeoning career and laid him off for over a year and a half.

He recovered sufficiently to make a return last year and two wins on the domestic circuit this season, including at the SapuraKencana National Qualifier, earned him a spot in the star-studded CIMB Classic, putting him back on track to rebuild his career.

While the CIMB Classic, sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour, will be his biggest tournament yet of his career, the quietly spoken Malaysian is not putting any pressure on himself.

“I just want to go out there and have fun. No expectation because it’s my first time on the PGA TOUR. You know, it’s a whole new experience, and I will just take whatever comes, one shot at a time,” said Leong.

“It means a lot. It’s a dream come true, definitely, and I’m looking forward to the whole week.”

These days, Leong restricts himself to light routines on the golf course. He doesn’t bash golf ball after golf ball at the range like he used to and would only play 18 holes a day and work at his short game, if at all.

“I wouldn’t say 100 percent,” said Leong of his back. “There’s still phobia, especially my first five shots. I don’t go at it just like before. It changed the way I practice. Now it’s just 18 holes because on the golf course I can hit one shot and I start walking to my second shot. It kind of gives my back some time to recover.

“I guess things happen for a reason. It made me grow up in a way, mature in a way that golf doesn’t have a specific way to practice. Before, you start listening to people saying, ‘oh, you know, this professional, he spends six, seven hours on the range, and look, he’s up there’. But golf is not like that. It’s not quantity, it’s quality.”