Thai star Thongchai Jaidee will shoot for a third Maybank Malaysian Open in a place he calls his "second home" at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Thursday.

The two-time Asian Tour number one is the undisputed king of golf in Malaysia following commanding victories in 2004 and 2005 at Saujana's Palm course. He was beaten into second place by Korea's Charlie Wi when the Open was played at a different venue.

Thongchai will go head-to-head with Europe's Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood, who tasted success at Saujana in 1997, Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, Dane Thomas Bjorn and 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand. India's Jeev Milkha Singh, last year's Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit champion, is expected to sparkle as well in the US$1.29 million championship.

"I'm ready to play tomorrow," said Thongchai. "When I come here, I'm happy. I've played this course many times. Even in my holidays I will come here and practice.  I like the course. It's not very long but it's very tricky. You need to know the course well. The greens are tough but if you know the greens, you know where to putt and make easier putts."

The former paratrooper has extra incentives to go for victory at the Maybank Malaysian Open, co-sanctioned once again by the Asian Tour and European Tour. Presently ranked 69th in the world, a jump of five rungs after this week's event will earn him a maiden trip to the lucrative WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in the United States in two weeks time.

Also, Thongchai is dreaming of breaking the top-50 for the first time in his career, which comes with a return visit to the US Masters in April, which he played in last year as an invitee.

"I've have played four weeks in a row and this is my fifth. I'm feeling a bit tired but I like being here. My game is getting better. I started the year nicely and my putting is working well. Everything is good," said Thongchai, who jointly holds the record of most number of Asian Tour victories with eight alongside compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant.

Tough scoring, unlike Thongchai's 21-under-par winning score of two years ago, is expected due to the punishing rough that has been left to grow at the Palm course, dubbed "The Cobra.

Clarke, a 10-time winner in Europe, said: "It's a bit more like a US Open than the Malaysian Open. My game is getting a little bit better (after finishing tied 20th in Dubai last week) but this is going to be a very tough week."

Westwood is searching for his first European Tour win since 2003 to add to his career haul of 15 and a return to Saujana will boost his confidence. He won the Malaysian Open in 1997 and was runner-up in the following year.

"I remembered playing very well and I liked it the first time I saw it. Felt comfortable on it and obviously coming out with a win," said Westwood, who represented the club for several years following his triumph. "Obviously I've got very fond memories. It's a place where I wanted to come back to and I'm glad to be here," he said.

One of the stars in Europe's Ryder Cup triumph last year where he was unbeaten in five matches, Westwood said the course has become a lot tougher since his last visit. "It's certainly a lot harder than I remember. Some of the greens have changed a bit. Some of the par threes on the back nine are a bit longer. I think it's a really good test," he said.

"I'm looking forward to it. I'm hitting the ball pretty good. It's a case of getting used to the greens and making a few putts. I don't think anybody will make loads of putts as they are quite hard to read," he said

The Englishman will not be surprised if Asia continues its domination at the Maybank Malaysian Open. Since the co-sanction began in 1999, Asian Tour members have won six of the eight editions so far.

"The strength of the Asian Tour and the individual Asian players is definitely a lot stronger than it was 10 years ago. Jeev obviously had a good run of tournaments there (in Europe) and got high up in the world rankings and Thongchai has been playing well for a long time."

Campbell enjoyed a breakout year in 2005 with a maiden Major victory at the US Open at Pinehurst and feels the punishing rough at Saujana could tip in his favour. "It’s tough out there. If you miss the fairways you are hitting second shots sideways, just like the US Open at Pinehurst so it’s nice to come to a golf course where I can feed off the positives from my win two years ago.

"The tropical grass here is very similar to Pinehurst - very thick up top and very thin at the bottom so the ball sinks right down. Yesterday in the Pro-Am I lost a few balls just a few feet off the fairway," he said.

Last year's winner Wi of Korea is not defending his title as he is playing on the US PGA Tour this season.