Mardan and Donaldson fit and ready after injuries
Mardan (shoulder) and Jamie (finger) on the mend and raring to go
One almost lost his finger, the other is nursing a wonky shoulder.
Injuries aside, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and local hero Mardan Mamat are using the SMBC Singapore Open, which tees off at the Sentosa Golf Club tomorrow, as an opportunity to bounce back from disappointing seasons.
Donaldson said he was eager to start the year on a high at the Serapong course after failing to continue the year-on-year improvement he has seen since 2008; a halt he puts down to playing more in the United States last year.
But he could so easily have been ruled out of the Singapore Open after a freak accident with a chainsaw last week.
He explained he was doing "a few jobs around the garden" when he nearly lost his left pinkie.
The 40-year-old, who won the point that sealed the 2014 Ryder Cup for Europe, posted the nasty-looking injury which needed multiple stitches on Twitter and, although he was forced to miss the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, he claims he is now back in full swing.
"I'm doing pretty good," said Donaldson, who praised Serapong for being "as perfect as a golf course can be manicured".
"If my back (which has been giving him minor issues) is ready by Thursday, which I'm sure it will, I'll be right and ready.
"The finger, there's no problem with it at all. I'm lucky... I could have taken my finger off. I could have taken them all off, actually.
"I did have my protective clothing on. But even so... Apparently the gloves only protect the outside, not the inside."
The world No. 50 - who was ranked as high as 23rd just 10 months ago - chuckled as he recounted how he picked up the injury, and indeed, seemed at ease throughout the whole interview.
The recent unpredictable weather here might worry some visitors from cooler climes, but for a player who had competed in a couple of Singapore Opens, it is no big deal for him.
In fact, he strolled into the press conference room a couple of minutes early with a beaming smile and a spring in his step.
The same positive vibes were displayed by Mardan, who met the press shortly after Donaldson.
The 48-year-old's career-high ranking is 193 (April 2011), but that meant little as he faced as many reporters, if not more than the Welshman.
After all, with five Asian Tour titles and earnings of more than US$2.1 million (S$2.96 million) in prize money, Mardan can be considered the elder statesman of Singapore golf.
Despite suffering a right shoulder injury which affected the second half of 2015, he reckons he is close to his peak again.
Revealing he has to treat the injury "three or four times a week", Mardan said: "Preparation is very good.
"I'm happy with how I'm feeling this week. I just have to work on my fitness a little bit and get my shoulder recovered. I think now it's at about 95 per cent."
BELIEF
Mardan added that his historic triumph at the 2006 Osim Singapore Masters at Laguna National - he became the first Singapore player to win a European Tour event as the championship was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour - gave him belief he could pull off the improbable again this week.
"It's a bit difficult when you're on home soil and there's a lot of expectation from the crowd," he admitted.
"(But) I've been there (before)... and in 2006, I proved I could do it. So hopefully, things come my way again."
He stressed, however, that so-called familiarity with the Serapong course is not an advantage.
"I don't believe in a 'home course'," he said. "If I hit straight and putt in, everywhere I play is my home course.
"Playing at home is nice, I can sleep on my own bed, enjoy my game.
"However well you may know the course, you still have to perform well over the four days."
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