K.J. Choi has a new spring in his step coming into the Barclays Singapore Open that he hopes will propel him to back-to-back victories.

The US-based Choi triumphed at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia last week which ended a frustrating 18-month winless spell and with his confidence back, he is gunning for more glory especially with Singapore being his last tournament of the year.

"Obviously my confidence level is up after the win last week. I played in the pro-am today and I feel my shots are there at the moment and I feel good. I also received a lot of support from the fans and I have a lot of expectations," said Choi, who is an Asian Tour honorary member.

Choi will certainly need to be at his best form at Sentosa Golf Club from tomorrow as this week's US$5 million showpiece has attracted a stellar cast which includes world number two Phil Mickelson and fellow Major champions Michael Campbell Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington. Els and Harrington finished joint runner-up last year.

A total of 118 winners will be on parade in Asia's richest national Open which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour for the first time.

Choi, the first Asian Tour graduate to enjoy success in the US with seven victories, credited his improved putting for his revival in Malaysia. He hopes to continue wielding his putter like a magic wand in a bid to improve on his tied 14th finish at the Barclays Singapore Open in 2007. He missed the cut by one stroke last year.

"This year it (the course) is really superb. It's in perfect condition for the tournament and that's why I have better expectations compared to the past few years," said the man nicknamed "The Tank."

"This course has tight fairways, so tee shots will be very important. Reading the greens will be very important as there are some double greens, like an ‘S'."

The powerfully-built Korean knows this is his last chance to force his way back into the world's top-50, although he says it is not a priority. "Numbers don't really mean a lot to me at this point. I'm not thinking of that right now. What's important is gaining my confidence back which I did by winning last week. At this point, I'm trying to prepare myself for next season. I'm going to work very hard for next year," said Choi, whose victory last week pushed him up to 73rd place in the world.

Long billed as the Asian most likely to win the region's first Major, Choi was happy that compatriot Y.E. Yang achieved the historic feat at the US PGA Championship in August and insists that it has given him added motivation to win a Major.

"I've been saying for the past five years that an Asian can win a Major and it became a reality. And now he (Yang) has motivated me to attain my own dream of winning a Major. Previously it was always asked ‘can we do it' but now we've shown that we can. It has given me a sense of confidence to strive for a Major win."

Big-hitting Thai star Chapchai Nirat hopes to fire himself into contention again this week after leading into last year's final round. A win will also secure him a place in next week's World Golf Championship event in Shanghai.

"Last year, I was leading but I didn't perform on Sunday. I got a bit nervous (playing with Phil Mickelson) and didn't play my usual golf. I think I got too quick with my game," said Chapchai, who won the SAIL Open in India with a world-record 32-under-par 256 total earlier this season.

"If I have a chance to contend again this year, I'll know what to do. I've learned from last year's experience."

After his triumph in India, Chapchai's form dipped but the Thai produced a second place finish in Malaysia last weekend. "I always enjoy playing at Sentosa Golf Club. It's a challenging golf course and you need to be on top of your game to shoot a good round there," said Chapchai.

"I somehow seem to play some good golf in the tournament and I'm looking forward to it again."