Title holder Darren Beck of Australia is hoping a strong combination with brother-cum-caddie Jonathan will lead to a successful defence at the Brunei Open which starts on Thursday.

Beck claimed a career breakthrough on the Asian Tour after a thrilling three-way play-off last year with his brother on the bag and he is feeling confident of a repeat at the majestic Empire Hotel and Country Club.

A strong cast of Asian Tour stars including rising Thai star Chinnarat Phadungsil, former champions Wang Ter-chang and Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, last year's runner-up Gaganjeet Bhullar of India and Filipino star Angelo Que will also be gunning for success at the US$300,000 tournament.

Beck, 32, paid tribute to his brother's influence on the golf course, saying the younger sibling played a big role in last year's success at the Brunei Open.

"We have a good combination. We joke a bit on the golf course and that's good. It was one of the reasons why I won last year. I played in a couple of tournaments where my brother didn't caddie for me and it was a lot different," said Beck today.

Beck, who recently welcomed a second baby boy into his family, believes he is better prepared this week to tackle the tricky and challenging Jack Nicklaus designed Empire course.

"I know the golf course really well from last year and took down important notes. If I can use the same notes, I'm quite confident everything will work out fine for us," said the Australian.

Bhullar lost in the play-off to Beck last year but made amends at the season-opening Asian Tour International in Thailand where he won his second Asian Tour title. He admits that he has struggled to find his best form in recent months but is confident of turning the corner.

"There's a strong line-up of events coming up starting with the Brunei Open and I hope to have a good result here. I'm driving and hitting my irons well but I'm struggling on the greens. That's the part of my game which I need to concentrate on," said Bhullar, who lies in 12th position on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit.

The standard of golf in Brunei has grown tremendously since the tournament's inception in 2005 and Pengiran Hassanal, Brunei's first professional golfer, Faiz Damit and Wira Salleh hope to make their country proud.

"I started my golf training about two months ago and my game is looking good. I'm glad I made the decision to turn professional as there are many young players who know they have an option to be an amateur or professional player," said Pengiran.

While there are only three professional golfers in the country so far, he foresees a bright future for the sport in Brunei Darussalam. "With my support, our junior golf association has done a tremendous job. The Brunei Tourism and Asian Tour have also done a splendid job in organising the Brunei Open as it gives these young talents a goal to aim for," he added.

Wira, who joined the play-for-pay ranks in March, is determined to fly his country flag high at his national Open. "I'm struggling with my swing at the moment but I hope my short game will pull me up. All of us hope to do well and I will try my best to improve," said the 24-year-old, a former national amateur team member.

"The Brunei Open has given aspiring Bruneian golfers something to aim for. It has been one of the main reasons why more young players are starting to pick up the game," said Wira.

For further enquiries please contact Asian Tour's Doyle De Costa at +6012 699 1976. Also visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for live scoring this week.