Lee Ka Tung (centre) and younger brother Kah Ching are all smiles as match official June Yii toss the coin before the start of the play-off at the 27th Sarawak Classic golf championship at KGS last Sunday.
KUCHING: Sarawak’s top golfer Lee Ka Tung is still undecided whether to turn pro.
“I have not decided on it yet even though the plan is to do it sometime in November or before the end of this year,” said the Sibu Golf Club (SGC) based golfer who had earlier in May announced that he was planning to play in the Professional Golf Malaysia (PGM) Tour in Nov after undergoing mental and fitness training.
Ka Tung, who bagged his ninth title in the Sarawak Classic golf championship at Sarawak Golf Club (KGS) last Sunday, had earned his licence to turn pro after winning the PGM’s Development Qualifying School Circuit on May 20 also held at KGS.
“I will continue to see my form and hopefully it will become better but I am looking forward to playing in the coming Sarawak Masters at Damai Golf and Country Club and also the second edition of the Sarawak Grand Championship,” said Ka Tung on his immediate plans.
He has also revealed his intention to defend his titles in this year’s 8th Sarawak Amateur Masters from August 21-23 and the prestigious 2nd Sarawak Grand Championship to be held at KGS from August 28-30.
The hardworking zero-handicapper has also set his eyes on winning the Samarahan Amateur Open championship to be held from Sep 4-6 before travelling to Miri Golf Club (KGM) for the KGM Amateur Open from Sept 18-20 and the Bintulu Amateur Open to be held Bintulu Golf Club (BGC) from Sept 25-27.
The five tournaments are being held almost back-to-back but Ka Tung is undeterred because he is looking forward to compete in as many events as possible in his preparation to turn pro.
The recent 27th Sarawak Classic became one of his most memorable events when he together with his three other siblings – Kah Ming, Ka Tiong and Kah Ching – created a history of sorts after they swept the top four places in the men’s gross category.
He had to play against his younger brother, Kah Ching in a play-off over Hole 1 during the last day of the three-day event to decide who gets to lift the Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan’s challenge trophy.
“I had nothing to lose when playing for the title in a play-off but this time round it was interesting because I’m playing against my own brother,” Ka Tung said.
His fond memories of playing in a play-off was during the 41st Sarawak Amateur Open golf championship held at KGS in 2010 when he had to compete against Kenneth De Silva and Ng Choo Tick, both from Malaysia Golf Association (MGA). All of them finished with an identical score of 150 and De Silva emerged champion while Lee finished third.
“I only played well in the second and last day of the Sarawak Classic but shooting an eagle at Hole 16 was the turning point for me and the play off with Kah Ching was indeed interesting,” Ka Tung said as he looks to repeat similar winning feats in the coming events.