GOHAN, Korea, Sept. 5 - Less has definitely been more for Mark Brown on the OneAsia Tour in 2012.The New Zealander lost his card on the European Tour last year after playing "too much golf", but a reduced schedule has allowed him to get into better shape both mentally and physically, and the conditioning is reaping rewards.
"It's been pretty good so far," Brown said ahead of this week's one billion won Charity High1 Resort Open, being played at the picturesque High1 Resort Country Club in Gangwon-do province, eastern Korea.
"I haven't played a lot this year -- probably about four times on OneAsia and a couple in Aussie and New Zealand -- but the tournaments I have played have been pretty good, so it has been positive."
Brown, 37, who hails from Lower Hutt on New Zealand's North island, finished sixth in his last two tournaments on OneAsia and lies fifth on the Order of Merit with earnings of U.S. $74,859.68.
His current schedule is vastly different from the hectic pace of Europe where, following a breakout year in 2008, he reached as high as 57th in the world rankings.
"I was playing about 34 a year, which was far too many, so this year I decided to cut back and work a bit on fitness and take a few more weeks off and try and get the body back in a bit better shape," he said.
"I think I have just been fresher every time I've played, and I think when you're mentally fresh you probably play a bit better."
A return to the fundamentals is also helping.
"I've been back to see my old coach back in New Zealand, Mal Tongue, who I split with about three or four years ago," Brown said.
"I went back to him at the start of the year and that's been awesome as well, so I think we're on the right track there."
Brown says his goal is to return to Europe, but he was enjoying his time on OneAsia -- the Asia-Pacific's most lucrative regional tour.
"I grew up playing the Asian Tour, Canadian Tour and Australasian Tour so I'm used to playing on smaller tours," he said. "Obviously as a professional you'd like to play the biggest tours you can, but its nice to be a bit more relaxed."
As to his chances this week, Brown said the High1 Resort course offered challenges not often found elsewhere on tour -- the altitude.
At 1,137 metres (over 3,730 feet), High1 is a golf course in summer and a ski resort in winter, and the elevation means a golf ball will fly further than at sea level.
"There is quite a lot of elevation change which I think will be a challenge. The clubbing will be very important," he said.
"First thing in the morning it should be pretty standard, but if it warms up or gets hot, then you could see up to 10 percent difference."
