MIDF continue support for PGM Tour

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PGM Tour general manager Mior Abdul Rahman Mior Mohd Khan (left) receiving the sponsorship from MIDF chief operating officer Azizi Mustafa as Sarji (second left) looks on.

KUCHING: Sponsor The Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad handed its contribution of RM350,000 to the Professional Golf of Malaysia chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid on Monday.

The cheque presentation ceremony was held at Menara MIDF in Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.

The amount is RM50,000 more than last year’s and marked the fourth year of support which has grown from the initial RM200,000 to its current figure.

Sarji thanked MIDF for the total RM1.050 million support over the four years.

“The money is to be regarded as an investment in human resources and in this case the development of professional golf. Today we have 16 of our golfers in the world ranking list (when previously there were none). Eight are now on the Asian Tour, thanks largely to ADT (Asian Development Tour) tournaments being held in Malaysia.

“The tournaments sponsored by MIDF are all ADT events that carry world ranking points. A few of our players have won such events and earned their Asian Tour cards,” said Sarji.

“Success is dependent on unflinching support of sponsors and in this context MIDF comes at the very top,” he added.

The MIDF tournament will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club from Dec 3-6.

Sarji singled out up and coming Arie Irawan as having a chance of earning his Asian Tour card if he were to do well in the tournament.

He would then join the likes of Nicholas Fung, Danny Chia, Ian Steel, Shaaban Hussin, Ben Long, Airil Rizman, Sukree Othman and Khor Kheng Hwai.

Sponsorship money not only went towards player winnings but also the national interest in seeing Malaysians in the world ranking list.

There will be a packed calendar for 2015 with over RM6 million in prize money on offer.

The PGM Tour chairman hoped that the board of directors of MIDF would see fit to, perhaps, increase the company’s contribution, given Olympic participation being on the cards.

He had worked out a budget of RM1.7 million presented to the Government to help prepare front-runners for the games by way of special coaching, diet, mental and physical training.

“I hope all sponsors will see 2015 as a crucial year for getting our players to qualify for the Olympics,” said Sarji who added that it was also his hope that the media coverage would be generous.

MIDF chairman Tan Sri Mahmood Taib saw MIDF’s contributions as backing for what is a noble effort towards development of professional golf in the country and benefiting not only golfers but the country as a whole.

He praised PGM, saying “it has played a significant role in that Malaysia now has 16 players in the world ranking list, a great achievement”.

It was his hope that with Sarji’s guidance the achievement would not end there and that (two) Malaysian golfers would qualify for the 2016 Olympics and even end up among the top 10 in the world.

Taib congratulated Sarji for being inducted into the Asian-Pacific Golf Hall of Fame recently for his services to the game in the region.