European Tour Insider: Noh says yes to membership

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Like most 18-year-olds, Noh Seung-yul would like a car.

Nothing unusual in a teenager wanting his own wheels, though you sense it won't be a second-hand runaround when he does fulfill his desire. Noh is not allowed to buy a car until he has $1 million in the bank.

The Korean teenager who just won the Maybank Malaysian Open said, "I've had to use my mother's car as my father told me that I can't buy one until I've won a million dollars -- but I'm half-way towards that now."

Noh has elected to take up his European Tour membership following the victory in Kuala Lumpur. So he can surely expect to further enhance his earnings, as well as a reputation as one of the future big names of the game.

He's no stranger to playing European Tour events anyway. Admittedly, they have been mostly events co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, but Noh's become a fairly familiar figure on the fringe of the leaderboard with top-20 finishes in Indonesia and the same Malaysian event in 2009.

The words "teen sensation" or "teen titan" have regularly been placed alongside Noh's name. He'd won both the Korean Amateur and Korean Junior Amateur titles in 2005, and graduated to his home country's national team. He'd enjoyed a top-three finish in an Asian Tour event while still an amateur, and as a professional he came through its qualifying school to enjoy a wonderful run of success which earned the title of Rookie of the Year.

His assurance in edging out a hero in K.J. Choi in Kuala Lumpur -- and producing a stunning shot through trees to win at the last -- suggests we'll be saying Noh a lot more in coming years.

Choi agreed. "He is one of the most powerful young talents coming up. The way he controls and hits the ball is like no other, and I think he has a very bright future."

SORENS SOARING

The two Sorens -- Hansen and Kjeldsen -- have been racking up the air miles. Along with Thongchai Jaidee, they've had to travel from Malaysia to Miami for the World Golf Championships-- CA Championship.

Hansen has momentum after placing third in Kuala Lumpur, so circumnavigating the world appears to be worthwhile. It meant a 14-hour flight from the East to London, a four-hour stopover and a further eight hours to Florida.

"I got into contention and really enjoyed it" says the world No. 45. "I can take a lot of confidence to Doral, and it's a venue that I've played well at in the past."

That includes 13th at the corresponding event last year.

STRENGTH IN DEPTH

England's Ross McGowan makes his debut at TPC Blue Monster in his second World Golf Championships event. The man who defeated Steve Stricker in round one of the Accenture Match Play Championship is out to repeat that form and the standard that took him to his first European title in Madrid at the end of last year.

McGowan is part of a continually strong European contingent with fellow Englishman Ian Poulter looking for back-to-back wins at this level. Paul Casey and Lee Westwood compete following fine showings at The Honda Classic, tying for fourth and ninth, respectively.

JUSTIN OUT?

It's odd to think given the prominence of Justin Rose as an Englishman on the PGA TOUR that he's looking unlikely to make Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup team right at the moment.

It was an excellent performance from him to finish third at Palm Beach Gardens on Sunday, but he reckons he's ranked eighth among English golfers at present, and says that "speaks volumes for how strong English golf is right now."

Of course, he'd like to make it to Celtic Manor in the autumn, but reckons "for me to get into the Ryder Cup, I need not to worry about the Ryder Cup, if that makes any sense."

JAIDEE JAMBOREE

The jet-lag inducing flight for Thongchai Jaidee to Florida from Malaysia was made after a late night of celebration. The Thai star was the recipient of three prestigious awards on the Asian Tour after claiming its Order of Merit last season with victories in the co-sanctioned Ballantine's Championship and Indonesia Open.

He's now had that Order of Merit trophy formally awarded along with a Players' Player of the Year prize, and one for the Lowest Stroke Average of 2009 (with an impressive total of 69.06).

Y.E. Yang's victory at the PGA Championship earned him a Special Achievement Award for being the first Asian player to win a major.