Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee has swept the four main honors in the Asian Tour's 2004 awards, including the Players' Player of the Year and Order of Merit titles.
On the day he successfully defended his Carlsberg Malaysian Open title, Thongchai was feted by his peers at the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
PHOTO: AFP
The awards followed a sparkling season last year which saw him win two titles, the Myanmar Open and the Malaysian Open, and lift the Merit title with record earnings of US$381,930.
PHOTO: AFP
The 35-year-old Thongchai said he was honored.
"This is a great week for me," said Thongchai, who has now won seven times in Asia.
"I am proud to be a part of the Asian Tour. If you look at Arjun Atwal, KJ Choi, Daniel Chopra, Charlie Wi and Kevin Na, they are all winners of Asian Tour events. Now they are on the US PGA Tour. I think that tells you that if you can win in Asia, you have a good chance to make it at a higher level," he said.
Thongchai said his immediate goals now were to win outside of Asia and also earn his right to play in the US Masters in April by breaking into the world's Top 50. Ranked 90th last week, he is destined to move up the list when the rankings are released.
Australia's Adam Groom was named Rookie of the Year after finishing 15th on the Order of Merit last season with winnings of US$117,728. The 26-year-old had three top 10 finishes.
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