Lu leads Tour stars at Mercuries Taiwan Masters

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TAIPEI -- Defending champion Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei will lead an array of Asian Tour stars at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters next week.

Veteran Lu will return to his home course in top form following two top-10 finishes in his last three events, and he is expected to take charge in the $500,000 event, which tees off from Sept. 18-21.

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Lu Wen-teh will attempt to successfully defend his title next week at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

He will be eyeing the top prize at Taiwan Golf and Country Club's Tamsui course for a record fourth time but realises the challenges ahead with the presence of in-form Australian Scott Hend -- who won the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational two weeks ago -- former Asian Tour number one and former Mercuries champion Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, Korea's Ted Oh -- who finished runner-up last year -- Malaysia's Ben Leong and Filipino Artemio Murakami.

With three top-10 finishes this season, Lu will be eager to return to his winning ways in Tamsui, which has been his home course since his childhood days.

"I like tricky courses like the Taiwan Golf and Country Club. It challenges my game, which makes it exciting. I hope to have an enjoyable time there again," said Lu, who won twice in the 2007 season.

Oh has been knocking on the door for a maiden Asian Tour triumph in recent times and with top-10 finishes in his last two appearances, the U.S.-based Korean will be eager to break through.

The fabled Tamsui course is also one of Oh's favourite haunts as he was runner-up in the event in 2004, too. He led after the third round last year but was overhauled by the home hero down the stretch.

Oh hopes that the hard work that he put in during the summer break will bring the rewards. "A lot of times in the past, I would make a good start (in a tournament) but had a hard time closing it. I don't think I was in the right physical shape then and tired out in the weekend. That's one thing I've been working on," said the Korean, who qualified for the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old in 1993.

Thailand's Thaworn will also be expected to challenge for honors. The Thai star, who won the Bangkok Airways Open in June for a record 10th Asian Tour title, will be hoping to emulate his performance at the Tamsui Course where he triumphed in the 2004 edition.

Other notable players include Australian duo Ashley Hall and Gary Simpson, who tied for fifth last year. Korean young gun Noh Seung-yul, who has chalked up three runner-up finishes in his maiden season this year, will also be expected to challenge.

American Bryan Saltus, winner of the 2007 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open, will make a return to Taipei since his last outing at the Pine Valley Beijing Open in May, while Australia's Gavin Flint will be making his 18th appearance next week having played in every event on the Asian Tour this season.

He will be joined by American Anthony Kang, who will enter the Mercuries event in top gear after recording third-place finishes in the last two tournaments.