A fit-again Frank Nobilo will be looking to pull off a rare Perrier Hong Kong Open double when he launches the defence of his title on the Hong Kong Golf Club's Championship Course today. Nobilo, who won by five strokes to take the 1997 Hong Kong crown, is optimistic that the arthritic problems that have dogged him for the past two years are firmly behind him - and is hoping to get into the winning groove again at Fanling. 'Hopefully my fitness problems are over. I took my last pill last week and I've felt fine since then. Now I just want to get back to playing golf and getting my strength up,' the New Zealander. Historically, back-to-back victories in the Hong Kong Open have proved elusive. In the 40-year history of the competition, only one player, Taiwan's Hsieh Yung-yo in 1963 and 1964, has managed the feat. However, Nobilo remains undaunted. Having won the Sarazen World Open for two successive years in 1995 and 1996, the Kiwi knows what it takes to defend a title successfully. 'I've no worries there. The key to it will be getting off to a good start . . . this is the sort of tournament where if you lose ground it can be difficult to make it up again so it's important to stay in touch with the leaders from the start,' Nobilo said. 'I like it here. The course suits my game well because you have to bring your irons into play a lot. I also think it will suit Jose Maria [Olazabal] very well,' he added. 'The greens and fairways are the best I've ever seen them.' No stranger to Hong Kong ['I've lost count of the times I've played here to be perfectly honest'], Nobilo said he was pleased to see such a strong field for this week's tournament. 'There's depth across the board. I can't list the players without missing somebody out. It should be a good week . . . last year the galleries were big and I'm sure they'll be bigger this time around,' he said. All eyes will be on Nobilo's flight today, which sees the defending champion join up with American John Daly and Italy's Costantino Rocca for a 7.50 am tee-off time. While Nobilo will be casting a wary eye at the likes of Daly, Rocca and Olazabal as potential challengers to his title, the amiable New Zealander will also be aware of the threat posed by some of the strong Asian contingent in this week's field. South Korea's Kang Wook-soon, who finished runner-up to Nobilo last year, and runner-up to Bernhard Langer when Fanling hosted the Alfred Dunhill Masters in 1996, has made Hong Kong a veritable home away from home. So too has Rodrigo Cuello of the Philippines. The 1996 Open winner enjoyed a triumphant return to Hong Kong last year when he snared the US$500,000 Omega Championships at Clearwater Bay. 'I've no doubt that the Asia players will be there or thereabouts this week. This is home turf for them and they know these conditions well,' Nobilo said.
