RICHARD Kan this morning will step up his bid to retain the Hong Kong PGA Order of Merit title in the first professional event hosted by the Macau Golf and Country Club.
Fresh from his victory in the second leg of the domestic circuit at Fanling last week, Kan is confident of extending his advantage of the top of the merit standings.
Going into the 36-hole, two-day tournament in Macau, Kan has 73 points having finished joint runner-up in the season's first event at Discovery Bay a month ago.
He is six points ahead of Yau Sui-ming and 12 in front of third-placed Dominique Boulet.
There is then an eight-point gap back to Sung Yau-luk who is narrowly ahead of Tang Man-kee.
''It's been a good couple of months for me,'' said Kan, an assistant professional at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club, who teamed up with Yau to represent Hong Kong in the World Cup of Golf in Orlando, Florida three weeks ago.
Said Kan: ''I've been playing more tournaments recently and I'm sure my game has improved because of that.'' Despite his recent successes, Kan knows there will be no room for complacency over the demanding Macau layout which was skilfully carved out of the hills above Hac Sa Bay on Coloane Island.