FEBRUARY 19: There are times when fairy tales on the fairways have even more drama and emotion than Cinderella or The Sleeping Beauty. Taiwanese golfer Yeh Wei-Tze was the central cast of one such story recently.The unassuming Yeh turned out to be a reluctant hero during last week's $825,000 Benson and Hedges Malaysian Open, an event co-sanctioned by the European and the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour, which was played at the beautiful Jumbo Ozaki-designed Templer Park course.I have known Yeh as a good amateur but he has been struggling ever since he turned pro some three years back. It was only last season that he did something of notice, finishing third in the Tianjin Teda Open. Even in his wildest dreams, he never thought of grabbing the limelight the way he did. Playing against some of the best names on the European Tour like Retief Goosen, Bernhard Langer, David Park and Mathias Gronberg, Yeh took the honours, the $133,230 winner's cheque and a three-year exemption on both European and Asian PGA Tour.One could see that Yeh was a nervous man after making a double bogey on the final hole and waiting for the others to finish their round. The celebration was muted when Nico van Rensburg failed to catch up with him, but I am sure his heart must have been pumping blood by gallons into his arteries. Life will never be the same again for Yeh, who twice appeared live on Taiwan TV and gave more than 30 interviews the day after his triumph.Yeh's victory is a huge step forward for the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour. While last year's champion Gerry Norquist has also risen from the Asian PGA ranks, he is an American. Here was a truly Asian player winning an European Tour event and sending out a strong signal to the world - Asian golf has arrived. The signals are clear.Korean Choi Kyoung-ju, who beat me in the Kirin Open playoff, qualified for the US PGA Tour. The Asian PGA Tour has already started getting recognition, and they were recently granted World Ranking points and also inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame. I am extremely excited about the future of Asian golf.Coming back to the Malaysian Open, I did pretty well and finished tied fifth with an aggregate of eight-under. In fact, both Arjun Atwal and myself had a good chance on the final day. The way Atwal played was a revelation.The back nine on the third day ruined his chances but his attitude was positive throughout the final day and that is a good sign. The other Indians in the fray - Jyoti Randhawa and Amandeep Johl - also did reasonably well and it was a very good outing for the Indian golfers.I had an interesting chat with my coach Sam Frost prior to the event, which I must share with every one. I walked up to him on the practice range and told him how badly I wanted to finish well here since I was playing in Asia.Sam, who could have had an alternate career as a philosopher, thought for a moment and said: ``Listen, don't take this event as a sprint. Think that you are participating in a marathon. Just go out there, enjoy your golf and take it easy. Maintain your speed, don't try running too hard or otherwise you will lose steam at the end.''The advice worked perfectly for me. I could feel the difference myself and especially on the final day, I just refused to be bothered by a couple of bogies. I am not sure whether my father, being a middle-distance runner, is going to like it, but I'd rather become a marathon man.(Tiger Sports Marketing)
