Bruneians reign supreme

0

TOP GUNS: Haga A golfers, Wan Shariman Abdul Rashid, Mohammed Zambre, Zulkafli Ariffin and Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin celebrate their win on the podium with Dawos (centre), Saidi (fourth right) and Mohd Rom (fourth left) during the WAITGC prize presentation. — Photo by Lester Mekan Baha

KUCHING: Brunei staked a strong claim in the World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Championship (WAITGC) after two of its teams emerged victorious in Sarawak leg of the prestigious tourney and qualified for the grand finals.

Round Four (Sarawak) of this year’s WAITGC was played at Sarawak Golf Club and making the cut were Brunei’s Yuyu Depenyu who won the team Stableford event with a total of 442 points and Lapor Po Tigers who finished runners-up in the team gross event with a score of 944.

Pengiran Zulkifli Pengiran Besar became the toast of Yuyu Depenyu’s team after bagging the individual stableford title with a score of 155 points.

Joining the Bruneians in the grand finals to be played at the Royal Perak Golf Club in Perak from Nov 6 to 8 are Han2 team from Singapore which finished second with 409 stableford points and the Chipachoppers team from Down Under who finished third with 1,112 points.

Malaysian hopefuls, Wan Shariman Abdul Rashid, Mohammed Zambre, Zulkafli Ariffin and Kamarulzaman Kamaruddin who represented Haga A team also made it through after scoring 939 points.

Mohammed Zambre’s score of 300 over the 72 hole-game bagged the individual gross title while in the media section, Zulkifli Othman lifted the top press golfer title with 42 points while second and third placing went to Reduan Md Iman and Wan Morshidi Wan Hassan with 41 points and 38 points respectively.

Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Datu Ik Pahon Joyik was all smiles after bagging the VIP title as he edged Albert Tanon into second place on count back (OCB) after both carded 38 points.

Third place went Gapar Asan who also won based OCB with 37 points over a disappointed Fabian Marip.

The prizes were presented by Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit who were accompanied by Tourism Malaysia industry development division senior deputy director, Saidi Bundan and Golf Club Managers Association of Malaysia (GCMAM) president Mohd Rom Muslim.

Twenty teams including eight from Australia, six from Brunei, three from Malaysia, two from Singapore and one from Singapore took part in the event held at Sarawak Golf Club Resort on Wednesday and KGS on Thursday.

The championship was managed by GCMAM and sanctioned by Malaysian Golf Association.

Melaka will be the next stop for the championship with the competition scheduled for July 9-12 at Tiara Melaka Golf and Country Club and Ayer Keroh Country Club, after which the championship will move to Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya for Round Six at Templar Park Country Club and Kota Permai Golf and Country Club from July 9-12.

Since its inaugural debut in 1994, WAITGC has emerged as a well-regarded tournament and it is one of the highly anticipated golfing events on the golfers’ calendar, attracting more than 500 participants every year.

Well into its 19th season, the home-grown event not only tests the golfers’ skills but also encourages them to discover Malaysia’s culture, tradition, delectable cuisines and many more.