Paul San and Tham with event patron Richard Wong (left), his wife Noy Wong and Sarawak Golf Association president Hoan Kee Hock after receiving their prizes. — Photo by Ting
KUCHING: It was a field day for Sukma golfers as they won both the 47th SGA Sarawak Amateur Open and 28th SGA Sarawak Amateur Ladies Open events at Kelab Golf Sarawak (KGS) yesterday.
Sarawak Sukma XVIII golfer Paul San Weng Yau continued with his fine form to record a seven-under par 69 on the final day for a total gross score of 215 to lift the Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min Challenge Trophy.
He returned scores of 76 and 70 on the first and second day of the competition which attracted 112 golfers from Sabah, Brunei, West Malaysia and Sarawak.
It was also third time lucky for the 20-year old lad as he had lost to defending champion and Sarawak’s golfing ace Lee Ka Tung of Sibu Golf Club in 2014 and 2015.
“It was a fantastic feeling to have beaten Lee (Ka Tung) after losing to him twice.
“This will be a very good confidence boost for me in the coming Sukma XVIII which will be my second Sukma outing,” he said after receiving the challenge trophy.
Paul, who had only returned last week from the US where he is undergoing further studies, said he would be aiming to better his bronze-medal performance at the Pahang Sukma four years ago.
He did not play for Sarawak at the last Sukma in Perlis in 2014 though he will still be eligible for the next Sukma in 2018.
“I will do my very best to deliver a medal for the state contingent. No matter the outcome, I will be going all out to play and enjoy the game,” he said, adding that he still has a lot to work on his game.
Finishing six strokes behind the champion was Nordin Yahaya of the Protellus Golf Team, Kedah and Johor Sukma player Irfan Syahmi, who led on the first day, settled for third spot with a 226.
Mohammad Lokman Mustaffa of KGS was beaten into fourth place on count back (OCB) and a stroke further in fifth position was Sabah Sukma golfer Casper Loh.
The sixth to 10th positions were occupied by Muhammad Zarfan (Johor MSNF) Lee Kah Ming (KGS), Fazley Chua (Sabah SGA), Lau Ching Leong (Sibu Golf Club) and Suzairi Iqmah (Sabah SGA).
In the ladies competition, Sabah Sukma golfer Tham Soot Yuet beat Malaysian Golf Association’s Nur Syazani Amalia in the play-off to lift the SGA Sarawak Ladies Challenge Trophy.
Both had tied at 234 strokes after three days of competition.
Tham, who has played golf for nine years, was surprised by her own performance especially on the final day yesterday.
“The win came to me as a surprise as I did not expect to win today. This will also give me a lot of confidence to face the challenge in Sukma XVIII,” said the 18-year-old who had played four times in the SGA Sarawak Amateur Ladies Open, with a third placing as her previous best.
Tham hoped to try to capture the gold in the upcoming Sukma in July.
It will be her second appearance in Sukma after the Perlis Sukma in 2014 where she ended empty-handed.
Another Sukma golfer from Johor Chong Yong carded a three-day total of 237 (74-83-80) to finish third while in fourth and fifth spots were Noraishah Alisa Che Omar of Danau Golf Club (240), Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak Sukma golfer Zulaikha Nurziana (242)s.
Meanwhile, Nur Hidayat Johari was declared the nett champion with his two-day total score of 139, followed by Johari Aman (143), Muhd Zarfan (144), Waili Abang (145), Wan Amin (146) and Christopher Daniel James (147).
The top three finishers in the ladies nett contest were Chiew I Youn (143), Norazlina Alisa Che Omar (146) and Sarawak Sukma golfer Elisa Mae Kho (151).