Ireland's Padraig Harrington is looking to get a head-start in the race for next year's European Order of Merit crown when he tees off in the BMW Asian Open.
Harrington missed out on the title to Retief Goosen for the second year running, after a nail-biting finish saw the South African finish the season marginally ahead of the Irishman. However, Harrington is already putting that defeat behind him and with the Asian Open counting towards 2002/2003 Order of Merit, he is looking to steal a march on his rivals.
"I've had a solid year and Im happy that Ive played nicely and feel I can improve my game. I featured in the skins game in Singapore on Sunday and finished second again, as usual. My game is not quite there, I just need to do a bit of things but itll be okay. This is my first trip to Taiwan and I was expecting it to be warmer," he joked.
In a field devoid of many of the major European and American big-guns, Harrington's main challenge is expected to come from Thongchai Jaidee, who last weekend edged out Colin Montgomerie at the TCL Classic in China.
Filed by Rob Wright
