Henson hopes third time at European Masters will be lucky

Berry Henson of the United States hopes he can finally find success in his third attempt at the four-day European Masters which tees off at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club here Sep 5.

The European Masters is the only tournament on European soil to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour and will mark the start of the second half of the Asian Tour season.

The 34-year-old missed the cut in his maiden appearance at the European Masters in 2011 and finished tied-61st last year.

Henson, rated as one of the best strikers on the Asian Tour, is confident with his return to the picturesque Swiss Alps, bolstered by his recent win on his domestic circuit.

"This will be my third time competing at the European Masters and I feel my experience will help tremendously especially with the golf course's tricky design," said Henson.

"The playing conditions and set up are very different from anything we play all year. I look forward to preparing for the long drives and hitting my wedges 150 yards."

The American enjoyed a sensational rookie season in 2011 by claiming two victories on the Asian Tour and the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in a span of three weeks.

"It has been more than two years and I feel really comfortable in Asia now. Winning the Philippines Open has definitely been the highlight of my career so far. I won the Clearwater Masters on the ADT before that and the feeling of winning back-to-back is awesome as I've never done that before," said Henson.

Henson is yet to miss a single cut in nine starts this season and is confident that he can continue his impressive run on the Asian Tour.

"I've enjoyed a very solid start to the year. I have put myself in a position where one good week can put me right where I need to be. I'll continue to prepare the same way and I know I will improve on my last years end ranking," added Henson.

Henson will be joined by other Asian Tour champions including Singapore's Mardan Mamat, India's Jeev Milkha Singh, Australia's Scott Hend and Bangladesh's Siddikur at the European Masters.