Open worth more

 NEWCOMER and New South Welshman Andrew Evans wants to follow in the footsteps of defending champion Josh Cabban, when he hits the Royal Port Golf Course fairways during the South Pacific Radler PNG Open tournament today.

The 30-year-old from Sydney, Australia, read about the Open through the Australasia PGA website and wants to take on the challenge at the A$140,000 (K330,000) tournament.

Evans, who finished runner-up to 56-year-old Peter Senior in the Australian Masters Golf tournament recently, will take his form into this week’s newest PGA Tour of Australasia event – the PNG Golf Open.

Evans told The National that he was excited and happy to take part in the tournament.

“I learned about the tournament through the PGA website, which has hit the limelight after being elevated from a third-tier event to the second-tier, which will attract more participants next year for sure,” Evans said.

Golf is a game of opportunity where good play is rewarded by increased opportunities to compete at the bigger stage.

Evans, who is pro at Sydney Bexley Club, is looking forward for the challenge from other professional golfers in the PNG Open.

He said he was aware of fellow Australian Josh Cabban’s victory last year and was pleased he would be competing with a group of solid professionals this week.

Meanwhile Cabban, who was one of the first pros to arrive into the PNG capital this week, told The National that it was good to be back to play golf and hopefully defend his title.

The 2015 PNG Open champion said he did not play well, finishing 11th overall in last week’s Morobe Open, but was now looking for a good challenge in the coming days.

“I’d love to retain the title but it won’t be easy because there’ll be many good pros competing at this Open as well,” Cabban said.

The 23-year-old comes into the PGA Tour of Australasia’s newest tournament as the defending champion despite not ever having won on tour. 

Cabban made the trip to PNG last year for the first time and claimed the title at the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club when the tournament was played on the Choice Hotels PGA Pro-Am Series.

“It’s a unique position.

“I wish it had been a tour event last year. 

“I’m just hoping to play well and win again,” Cabban, who has had a positive experience in Papua New Guinea, said.

“I enjoy it, a lot of people say it’s unsafe but I have really good people to stay with so I feel safe coming here for the week.”

Having secured his card on the PGA Tour of Australasia via qualifying school this year, Cabban tees it up this week looking for back-to-back wins and his first tour title.

With some course knowledge, Cabban is confident he can achieve the feat, with the secret to success being to keep a cool head in the tropical climate.

“The greens are pretty good this year. 

“Last year they were a bit bumpy in patches which I think threw a lot of the guys off,” Cabban said.

“If you just keep your head cool and accept that you are going to miss a few putts that you would normally hole, I think you can play really well and shoot a good number.”

Aware of the huge opportunity up for grabs this week with the South Pacific Export Radler PNG Open now a Tour event, Cabban believes the quality of the field has increased, a trend he expects to see keep happening.

“It’s definitely a big advantage coming here with a smaller and perhaps slightly weaker field than other big tournaments on the tour,” Cabban said.

  “It’s a good chance to really get yourself up the order of merit and if you have a win, it cements your spot on the tour for the next couple of years. 

“There’s a lot of importance placed on this week. 

“I believe a lot of players will come up next year when they hear the positive reports from the guys this year. 

“The course is in good nick, it’s well worth the money to travel up and I think a lot more will next year.”