SMILES OF SUCCESS: Kelie Kan Kah Yan and Paul San Weng Yau posing with their trophies after the prize presentation.
SGA golfer cards three-day total of 224 to defend title
KUCHING: Defending champion Paul San Weng Yau capped a fine year of golf after bagging the Boys’ overall champion title as well as the Boys’ A & Special title of the 14th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup International Junior Golf Championship which ended yesterday.
San created history of some sort by becoming the first player to win the event for two consecutive years.
Spearheading Sarawak Golf Association’s challenge in the prestigious event, the 15-year-old fired carded 72 in round three for a three-day total of 224 (76-76-72) to defend the title he won last year at Sarawak Golf Club (KGS).
Ten strokes behind the Kuala Lumpur-based junior golfer was Solomon Emilo Rosidin of the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) who finished second while S Kumaresan from Miri Golf Club was third with a total score of 235.
Worakorn Toyam of International Sports Federation of Thailand (ISF) finished fourth with a score of 237 while Amir Nzarin of MGA was fifth with 242.
I felt great and fantastic for winning this championship again. I came here expecting to win and I did it,” said an elated San.
PROMISING GOLF ACES: Winners of the respective categories of the recently concluded 14th Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup International Junior Golf Championship posing with Sarawak Golf Association (SGA) president Brian Chien, secretary Shahary Alias and SGA committee members after the prize presentation. — Photos by Teo Chi Wei
“Winning this championship twice and the Sabah Amateur Open this year are my greatest achievements so far,” said San who sticks to his usual game and handled the pressure well.
It was also a belated birthday present for San who had only turned 16 last month and won this year’s Sportexcel Golf Championship at held Clearwater Golf and Country Club in Ipoh.
He completed a treble by winning the Boys’ team event with teammates Aaron Lau and Jordan Lim after the trio registered a three-day total score of 713 to beat ISF, Chuebacca and KGS.
“In the middle of next year, I will probably be playing a few junior and amateur tournaments in the US. I will also try to qualify for the US Amateur Open,” said San who will return to Kuching next month to play for the SGA team against Sabah Team in the annual SGA Cup.
Meanwhile, it was third time lucky for Kelie Kan Kah Yan of Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (MALGA) who carded a three-day total score of 235 to win the Girls’ B category and lift the champion’s trophy.
Completing the MALGA clean sweep in this category were Jaclyn Chen Jin Yi who returned a score of 249 and Chong Yong who was four strokes further back.
For 14-year-old Kan from Kuala Lumpur, this was her first win at KGS after finishing third in the same category here last year.
“I feel proud of winning this tournament and I came here with full confidence after winning several tournaments this year,” said Kan who picked up another trophy by winning the team event for MALGA with Chong Yong, Kimberly Nelson and Jaclyn Chen after registering a combined score of 726.
“Despite playing in soggy conditions, my game was quite consistent and the scores could have been better if the courses were in a better condition,” she added.
Meanwhile, Thanakorn Torsee of ISF won the Boys B title with his score of 234 while the sole representative of Penang Golf Resort Bryan Teoh Wiyang took the Boys C crown with a score of 222 and Malcolm Ting Siong Hung from Miri Golf Club emerged the champion in Boys C contest with a score of 230.
The champion of Girls’ A and Special category was Ong Shi Qing of Kelab Golf Rahman Putra Malaysia who scored a three-day total of 255.
Sarawak junior golfer Ashley Lau Wen Jin who represented MGA won Girls’ C category with a 242 while Arpichaya Yubol of ISF won Girls’ D after carded a 223.
In the Girls’ teamevent, Elf Malaysia comprising Celine Lim Shwu Ling, Ong Shi Qing and Ho Cai Yan (801) finished second while ISF Thailand (824) and KGM Girls (866) came in third and fourth respectively.
This year’s championship attracted an entry of 89 players from 21 teams including host Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand took part.