Ong (centre) with Hoan (second left) and (from right) Andre, Tan and Paul.
KUCHING: Junior golfers in the state will have the chance to showcase their talents in golf tournaments organised by the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC).
They need not be members of any golf club or children of club members to be eligible to play in the SSC Junior Golf events that will tee off at Kelab Golf Sarawak (KGS), Petra Jaya on March 30 and 31.
SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee said the junior golf series is aimed at building a bigger pool of young golfers who will be selected into the state junior squad and eventually represent Sarawak in Malaysia Games (Sukma) and other national and international competitions.
“We will be also organising similar golf competitions in Miri, Bintulu, Sibu and Samarahan to enable the junior golfers of the respective divisions to display their competitive edge and get chance to be roped into the state development programme.
“As of today, we have more than 30 golfers who have registered for the SSC Junior Golf and hopefully more will sign up before the closing date tomorrow,” Ong said after a meeting with Sarawak Golf Association president Hoan Kee Hock at KGS Golfers Lounge on Thursday.
Also present at the meeting were KGS junior golf development chairman Anthony Tan Hong Chiang, SSC High Performance Unit manager Andre Richards and Sarawak Sukma head coach Paul Bryan.
According to Ong, the majority of the participants are from Kuching and Samarahan as golfers from other parts of the state were unable to participate due to travel restrictions and concern over the Covid-19 situation.
Kuching, Sibu and Miri are still classified as red zones by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee.
However, Ong said sports activities including training and competitions are allowed but with strict compliance to the standard operating procedures and guidelines set by the relevant authorities.
According to Ong, invitations were sent to clubs such as Samarahan Country Club, Kelab Golf Miri, Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club, Kelab Golf Bintulu, Sibu Golf Club and Damai Golf and Country Club to send their juniors to next week’s competition.
“This series of competitions is also aimed at giving exposure to our elite golfers and those in the Sukma long list and organising more local golf events.
“Besides trophies and medals, ranking points will be given to top winners and after collecting the points from events in Miri, Sibu, Bintulu, Samarahan and Kuching, the top 10 golfers shall qualify for the Grand Final in Kuching,” added Ong.
Meanwhile, KGS will be organising a Golf Rules Briefing at the club on March 29 for the golfers who are taking part in the SSC Junior Golf in Kuching.
Among the speakers will be KGS Rules Sub-Committee member Sahdi Sema’on, former KGS secretary Noel Tan and Richards.