CASAS BRIMMING WITH CONFIDENCE: Winning a matter of time

Cassius Casas set two course records abroad in the last two weeks but still came back empty-handed, a second victory in the international arena remaining elusive since he triumphed in 1995 in Singapore.

But those setbacks hardly dented the dusky shotmaker's level of confidence heading to an all-important stint in the Kirin Open on April 20 in Japan where he expects to come up with a creditable performance against the best campaigners in the Japan PGA Tour, including Filipino ace Frankie Miñoza.

"That's golf, you win some, you lose some," said Casas, referring to his failed bids in the Wills Indian Open in New Delhi, where he set a course-record 65 at the Classic Golf Resort course, and in the Thailand Masters in Bangkok, where he blazed the Windmill golf course with another record-setting 62.

In both tournaments, Casas had a clear shot at the title - he led by three strokes at the halfway mark in New Delhi and moved within one shot off the leader, also after 36 holes, in the Bangkok bash.

But he blew both chances (he finished joint third in New Delhi and wound up 10th in Thailand), although the player who had dominated the local golf circuit in the last three years insisted he did not wilt under pressure.

"I don't put pressure on myself," said Casas. "I don't care whether I'm leading or I'm behind. What I just do is concentrate on my game."

So what's unsettling him?

"I don't have any problem with my game. I've been hitting well, my ball striking is very good, consistent," said Casas. "But what tends to ruin my game is my aggressiveness because I have this tendency to go for it even if I shouldn't have to."

For a power-hitting player, playing conservative golf could indeed be a very difficult option, especially if one can drive in the vicinity of 320s (yards) on any given day, and is confident of reaching the par-5s in two, or cutting the dog-legs with relative ease.

But boldness is also a mark of a champion, which the 33-year-old Casas hopes to cash in as he resumes his bid in Japan and the rest of the legs of the Asian PGA Tour this year.

"My game is fair, at its best. I might have fallen short of my bids in the last two tournaments, but I feel great and I believe that I will win this year," said Casas, whose game and career earnings have gone up the last two years.

Quite a confidence.

After all, Casas is looking beyond Japan and the whole of Asia since he will be trying his luck in the two-stage US PGA Tour Qualifying in October.