Golf-Malaysian golfer closer to dream Mickelson pairing

KUALA LUMPUR Oct 27 (Reuters) - Malaysian Nicholas Fung was one step closer to fulfilling his dream of playing with American major winner Phil Mickelson after he won the Palembang Musi Championship on Saturday to qualify for next month's Singapore Open.

Victory in the $150,000 tournament in Indonesia on Saturday shot Fung to the top of the Southeast Asian golf tour's order of merit and qualified him for the $6 million European and Asian Tour event in Singapore.

"This is fantastic," Fung told reporters. "Now I get to play in the Singapore Open. It is my dream to play with Phil Mickelson," the world number 1,372 added.

Thailand's Gunn Charoenkul finished runner up to Fung and, along with Antonio Lascuna from the Philippines, also qualified via the money list for the prestigious event featuring world number one Rory McIlroy. (Reporting by Patrick Johnston in Kuala Lumpur; Editing by John O'Brien)