FAVOURITE Marcus Lim Pang Chuen of Tentera Udara bounced back and lived up to his billing as the top local contender in the combined Under-Nine section at the SportExcel junior open grand finals at the Rahman Putra Golf Club in Sungai Buloh recently.
Marcus’ father Vincent Lim admitted his son lost ground after a good start. He shared the lead at the top of the leaderboard with Thailand’s Watcharakan Chantakan with a four-over 40 effort in the opening nine holes.
“He failed to stay in contention in the international category decided over three rounds when he struggled on the second day. It was an uphill task for him to narrow the deficit against the stronger Thailand contenders from Thailand Junior and South Thailand,” added Vincent.
However, the 25-handicapper’s two-day score of 12-over 84 was enough for him to secure the win in the grand finals with a comfortable nine strokes advantage over Tiu Darren of Kota Permai Golf and Country Club while Seremban International’s Foo Tee Jui who was four strokes behind Darren came in third.
Memorable double: Jeremiah Kim emerging as the boys’ Under-20 champion of the grand finals and international championships. “He might be feeling the strain towards the end of a hectic season. He was nursing a bleeding nose after his stint on the course at the recent tournaments,” said Vincent, adding that it will be another challenging year ahead for Marcus to compete against more established junior golfers in the Under-12 age-group next year.
Having emerged as the winner in the opening seven legs of the junior open circuit held earlier, the emerging talent found it tough to maintain his winning streak at the back-to-back eighth and ninth legs in Sabah before the grand finals.
Marcus settled for second best in both tournaments at the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club and Sabah Golf and Country Club.
This year, the nine-year-old SJKC Puay Chai pupil’s impressive run in the junior open series include victories at the A’Famosa Golf Resort in Malacca (first leg), Monterez Golf and Country Club (second leg), Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort (third leg) and Monterez (fourth leg).
Before bagging the seventh leg at Rahman Putra, Marcus also had a successful northern tour at the Bukit Jawi Golf Resort in Penang followed by another victorious visit at the Clearwater Sanctuary in Perak.
Meanwhile, girls’ Under-20 defending champion Nur Durriyah Damian of Kundang Lakes repeated her notable winning performances capturing both the grand finals and international championships.
Good effort: Favourite Marcus Lim Pang Chuen of Tentera Udara emerging as combined Under-Nine champion at the grand finals. Two other Malaysians — Aaerishna Shahshty and Jeremiah Kim — also protected their two-day lead from the grand finals to secure a memorable double winning the international meet decided over three rounds of 18 holes in the boys’ Under-12 and Under-20 sections respectively.
RESULTS (Grand Finals)
COMBINED
Under-Nine: 84: Marcus Lim Pang Chuen (Tentera Udara) 40-44; 93: Tiu Darren (Kota Permai) 48-45; 97: Foo Tee Jui (Seremban International) 54-43
BOYS’
Under-12: 147: Aaerishna Shahshty (Royal Johor) 75-69; 150: Galven Kendall Green (Monterez) 77-73; 150 (ocb): Ryan Wong (Bukit Jalil) 77-73
Under-15: 149: Amir Nazrin Jailani (Seri Selangor) 75-74; 154: Low Khai Jei (Taiping) 79-75; 158: Park Chang Uk (Darul Ehsan) 79-79
Under-20: 145: Jeremiah Kim (Monterez) 72-73; 148: Kenneth De Silva (MGA) 71-77; 153: Leonard Yugandra (Seremban International) 72-81
GIRLS’
Under-12: 168: Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari (Tentera Udara) 84-84; 176: Qistina Blaqis Azhar (Johor Junior) 91-85; 179: Natasha Andrea Oon (Rahman Putra) 89-90
Under-15: 164: Jolene Kam Jo Ling (Kota Permai) 87-77; 165: Ong Shi Qing (Rahman Putra) 85-80; 176: Chong Yong (Kluang) 87-89
Under-20: 152: Nur Durriyah Damian (Kundang Lakes) 72-80; 156: Yong Mei Khuan (Saujana) 82-74; 170: Asha Lakshme (Royal Johor) 84-86.
No comments:
Post a Comment