A'Famosa set to host the 109th Malaysian Amateur Open. It was announced today at the Press Conference held at MGA's office. The tournament will be held from May 19-22, 2011.
The Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) will be organising the prestigious Malaysian Amateur Open in historical Malacca from May 19 to 22, 2011 with the A'Famosa Golf Resort as the host venue of the nation's oldest amateur tournament.
Attracting participants mainly from the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysian contenders are no more accorded automatic entry as they are required to qualify through the Sabah Amateur Open, Sarawak Amateur Open and Malaysian Amateur Close tournaments.
"The MGA is working towards achieving the target of having Malaysian champions in both the men's and the newly created ladies' division. It has been a while since we've had a Malaysian name engraved on the championship trophy," said MGA President, Datuk Robin Loh.
"As locals no longer enjoy automatic entry, the MAO is a culmination of the qualifying rounds for the Peninsular (45th Malaysian Amateur Close scheduled for April 5-7), Sabah Amateur Open (April 22-24) and Sarawak Amateur Open (May 13-15)."
Since its inauguration in 1894, the Malaysian Amateur Open Golf Championship (now better known as the MAO) has gone through several transformations in name, challenge trophies, title sponsors and format of play.
This will be only the third edition that will include a ladies' division after it was introduced at the 107th Malaysian Amateur Open at the Kelab Golf Sarawak in 2009.
R. Nachimuthu was the last Malaysian to have won the title when the championship was held at the Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in 1997. There have been several near-misses for our players as was the case with Mohd Iylia Jamil finishing runner-up to champion Mhark Fernando of the Philippines at the Damai Laut Golf & Country Club last year.
In the ladies' division, 17-year-old Thidapa Suwannapura from Thailand overcame a three-stroke deficit in the final round to clinch the title by two shots over compatriot Yupaporn Kawinpakorn with our national player Kelly Tan finishing third in the 2010 edition.
"It is an honour for us here at A'Famosa Golf Resort being given the opportunity to host the Malaysian Amateur Open for the first time. We started priming the 6,397-metre, par-72 combination of Rocky and Palm Courses since late 2010 to ensure its tip-top condition, befitting the stature of the tournament," said Julian Lau Joo Liang, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of A'Famosa Golf Resort.
The Malaysian Amateur Open has been a fertile ground in producing top players as evident by its list of past champions that include the likes of Australians Robert Allenby and Andrew Dodt, Singapore's Mardan Mamat, Filipino Juvic Pagunsan and India's Shiv Kapur.
Having survived the colonial era, two World Wars and the upheavals of the nation to the major amateur golf championship that it has become today, the Malaysian Amateur Open's steady rise in stature was further cemented in 2006 when it was included as an event in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, which ranks the world's top amateur golfers.
In its effort to unearth new golfing talents, the MGA will also be conducting a Junior Golf Clinic in tandem with the 109th Malaysian Amateur Open at the A'Famosa Golf Resort.
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