Shah Alam [SELANGOR]: Korean teen wonder Joohyung Kim will resume his bid for a second Asian Tour title when he makes his maiden appearance at the Bandar Malaysia Open, which gets underway at the highly-rated Kota Permai Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The talented 17-year-old, who came close to winning in New Zealand last week before settling for fourth, hopes to make amends by putting up a strong title assault at the storied event, which returns to the Asian Tour this week after a four-year hiatus.

“I played well last week in New Zealand. I took a break before that and came back not knowing what to expect. Being in contention and having a chance to win last week was just great although it was not the day I wanted to have on Sunday,” said Kim.

Kim made his mark on the region’s premier Tour when he claimed his breakthrough in India last November, just a month after securing his third victory on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) last season to earn his Asian Tour card for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Prior to his solid fourth-place finish in New Zealand, the talented Kim also enjoyed a fourth-place result at the Singapore Open in January to secure his berth at The 149th Open at St. George’s this July where he will be making his Major debut.

“I have a lot of hopes for this week as well. I played a lot in Malaysia when I was playing on the ADT last year, even winning in Melaka. To come back to Malaysia and playing on the main Tour now is really exciting for me,” he added.

Order of Merit leader Wade Ormsby, who also came in top-10 in New Zealand last week, is looking to extend his fine form into the US$1 million event, which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

The 39-year-old Australian endured a slight dip in form after winning his third Asian Tour title at the season-opener in Hong Kong but was pleased to rediscover his ‘A’ game just in time for his sixth appearance at the Malaysian Open, where he came in tied-11th in 2015.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to have the Malaysian Open back on the schedule. It’s a great event. Seeing the trophy when we drove in this morning and seeing so many big names on it, it just feels great to be playing in such a storied event which has been around for a long time,” shared Ormsby.