Thai golfer Danthai Boonma excited about Mauritius Open

Boonma hits a practice shot

Young Thai golfer Danthai Boonma is eagerly looking forward to a maiden appearance at the tri-sanctioned AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open from 12 to 15 May.

The 20-year-old, who enjoyed a career breakthrough win on the Asian Tour at the end of last season, reckons Mauritius would be his furthest destination to date in his burgeoning career as he prepares to tee up at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.

Danthai, a former amateur star, will be among a strong Asian Tour contingent ready to put up a good showing in the second edition of the 1 million (approximately $1.09 million) event, which is the first tri-sanctioned event by the Asian, European and Sunshine Tours.

"I did some search on the web and Mauritius looks beautiful! I am very excited because it will be my first time visiting Mauritius. The golf course is beautiful but the wind will be strong. This will be the first event that I will play far away from Asia. I am looking forward to it," said Danthai in an Asian Tour release on Friday.

Since winning his first Asian Tour title in Singapore last November, Danthai has gained some much-needed confidence but conceded he needs to play down his own expectations in his bid to secure a second Asian Tour victory.

"I feel more confident after winning last year and I don't feel as nervous as I would be playing in tournaments now. It's a relief that I don't need to think about making the cut every week and keep thinking about making enough money to keep my card.

"I played well in my first two events of the year in Singapore and Myanmar but I haven't really performed well after that. I guess I gave myself too much expectation in the past few co-sanctioned events," explained Danthai, a double gold medallist at the 2012 South East Asia (SEA) Games.

Having made only two cuts in six starts this season, Danthai hopes a swing change will help turn his poor start to the season around.

Apart from securing another win, Danthai has also set another goal for himself this season. "I finished 26th on the Merit rankings last year. I hope to finish inside top-20 this year and try to boost my world rankings even though I have got exemption for another year."