The 46-year-old Miñoza, a multiple winner across Asia, won in Pakistan some 17 years ago during his early years as a professional and with the Pakistan Open making its debut, it will give the battle-hardened veteran another shot at glory.

Amongst the other big-name Asian Tour players heading to Karachi include Tour winners Mardan Mamat of Singapore, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, Boonchu Ruangkit of Thailand, Australian Adam Le Vesconte and Marcus Both and new Thai golf sensation Chinarat Phandungsil.

Former Asian number one Kang Wook-soon of Korea and China’s Liang Wen-chong are amongst the other top stars who will compete in the US0,000 event, which is the second leg of the 2006 Asian Tour season.

All eyes though will be on Miñoza, who enjoyed a resurgence last season after a couple of seasons in the doldrums. A six-time winner in Japan, the Filipino, who has enjoyed the privilege of playing in the US Masters, suffered a dip in form on the greens before finding his feet again with a solid campaign in 2005 with three top-five finishes on the Asian Tour.

Miñoza said a switch back to the broomhandle putter saw him reap his rewards. "When you putt badly with the short one, you need to change. I have used the short putter for the past five years and I decided to go with the broomhandle.

"You just put it into the chest and putt with the right hand. It feels better than the short one which I didn’t have confidence with. I will always support the Asian Tour as I have so many friends on this Tour," said Miñoza.

A new crop of Thai youngsters could become spoilers for the experienced players. Teenage star Chinarat is among the young guns who exploded onto the scene after a record breaking feat on home soil at the 2005 Double A International Open. He became the youngest ever winner on the Asian Tour at the age of 17 years and five days after beating Shiv Kapur of India in a play-off.