Green happy to be home

Local favourite Gavin Green is hoping to be at his best when he tees it up in front of a home crowd at the Maybank Championship.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to 2019, following up a good performance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA by finishing in a tie for 11th at the Saudi International powered by SBIA last month.<br /><br />And Green wants to keep that momentum going as he returns to Kuala Lumpur this week.<br /><br />He said: "It's such a big one for me. I love playing in front of a home crowd.<br /><br />"Maybank have helped me and been with me through the years. It would be really good to play well and finish as high as I can.<br /><br />"I feel good, I've been playing well the last few weeks. I've just had a couple of hiccups here and there that disrupted the whole game, but it's been good so far.<br /><br />"I got my coach down for a couple of days and worked with him, trying to get ready for this event."

This week's tournament boasts a strong field including multiple Major Champions Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington, and Green is delighted to have them at his home event.<br /><br />"We all call them legends," he said. "They are part of what has made golf what it is now. It's good to have them here."<br /><br />Another player in this week's field with such high standing in the game is Miguel Ángel Jiménez.<br /><br />The Spaniard may be 30 years older than Green but he is still hungry to add to his 21 European Tour titles.<br /><br />He said: "I don't have targets. I am going to keep focused and try to win the tournament. That's the purpose, that's why we are here.<br /><br />"Hopefully on the weekend I am trying to get the title.

"The golf course this year is in superb condition. It's in the best condition it's ever been. The greens are new and they are in superb condition. It's a good test.<br /><br />"I enjoy coming to Malaysia, it's always nice to come here and play in this beautiful heat.<br /><br />"It's nice to come back here. I've had a lot of good memories in this region, here, Hong Kong, China. I always enjoy coming to this part of the world.<br /><br />"I feel comfortable here. I like this kind of weather. It's nice, I feel good. Good golf course, good design."