Gavin, Sharon shine in inaugural Mizuno junior meet

Gavin, Sharon shine in inaugural Mizuno junior meet


Kuala Lumpur, June 8: Gavin Kyle Green and Sharon Lau May Yen emerged the overall champions at the inaugural Mizuno Junior Open, which concluded yesterday at the Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort.

The event, which was title-sponsored by Mizuno and Royal Sporting House, the exclusive distributor of the Japanese golf brand in Malaysia, was the third leg of the SportExcel National Junior Golf Circuit and saw a full field of 120 golfers.

The 17-year-old Green managed to see off the challenge from fellow national player Kenneth De Silva to win the boys’ under-20 title, despite an uncharacteristic nine on the par-four 11th enroute to a closing 77. He registered a tournament total of 143 to take the title by a single stroke.

De Silva could have forced a playoff but lipped a two-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish in second place. Three-handicapper Chan Tuck Soon was third on 145 after carding an even-par 72 to end his campaign on 145.

Lau, 19, who is in Malaysia on summer holidays, notched rounds of 75 and 78 to emerge victorious in the girls’ under-20 division. The former national amateur is a proud product of SportExcel and is now pursuing her studies on a scholarship at Tarleton State University in Texas. She was recently named Division II Freshman of the Year by the National Golf Coaches Association for her exploits on the US collegiate circuit.

Two shots adrift were Asha Laskhsme Balakrishnan and Nur Musfirah Ilham Armalis, who finished level on 155.Johor-based Asha took second place on countback based on a better final day round.

Two new champions were also crowned at the event with Chong Yong registering her maiden win in the girls’ under-15 category while it was also a memorable occasion for Khavish Varman Varadan, who finished first in the boys’ under-12 division.

Royal Sporting House general manager – golf David Leow was satisfied with the outcome of the inaugural edition of the junior tournament, which is set to be an annual affair. “The feedback we have received has just been amazing. The juniors have been very enthusiastic and the additional items like the valuable goodie bags and the group photographs added a touch of class to the event, unlike existing junior tournaments.

Leow also expressed hope that the top five finishers in the boys’ under-20 division will prove themselves during the Mizuno Dream Cup Malaysian Qualifier later this year. “I hope that these amateurs will make full use of this golden opportunity to strut their games and earn a place to represent Malaysia in the final stage of the Gateway to the Open tournament. I feel that by opening this opportunity, we have provided a competitive platform for our representative to gauge his standard against his peers from across Asia.”

Leading final scores
Boys’ Under-20
1st Gavin Kyle Green 143 (66-77)
2nd Kenneth De Silva 144 (72-72)
3rd Chan Tuck Soon 145 (73-72)
4th Leonard Yugendra 148 (76-72)
5th Lim Wei Jim 149 (74-75)
6th Ng Choo Teck 151 (77-74)

Girls’ Under-20
1st Sharon Lau May Yen 153 (75-78)
2nd Asha Lakshme Balakrishnan 155 (78-77)
3rd Nur Musfirah Ilham Armalis 155 (75-80)
4th Lim Ai Lynn 161 (81-80)
5th Pang Sue May 162 (81-81)
6th Nadzirah Rozaimi 192 (98-94)

Boys’ Under-15
1st Paul San Weng Yau 149 (78-71)
2nd Amir Nazrin Jailani 153 (78-75)
3rd Aaron Cheong 157 (79-78)
4th Ervin Chang 159 (83-76)
5th Danial Mohd Sidek 159 (83-76)
6th Kew Jia Jiun 163 (86-77)

Girls’ Under-15
1st Chong Yong 165 (80-85)
2nd Lee Na Ra 169 (85-84)
3rd Celine Lim Shwu Ling 171 (88-83)
4th Jolene Kam Jo Ling 174 (91-83)
5th Chong Yee Mun 181 (89-92)
6th Ho Cai Yan 184 (91-93)

Boys’ Under-12
1st Khavish Varman Varadan 142 (68-74)
2nd Ryan Wong 147 (72-75)
3rd Aaerishna Shahshty 148 (74-74)
4th Low Jun Wei 156 (75-81)
5th Galven Kendall Green 163 (82-81)
6th K. Rhaasrikanesh 166 (85-81)

Girls’ Under-12
1st Kim Sol Lip 161 (83-78)
2nd Farhatul Munirah Md Dah 175 (85-90)
3rd Amalia Shahzan 177 (92-85)
4th Qistina Balqis Azhar 183 (93-90)
5th Samantha Chong 186 (92-94)
6th Nurdiyana Aqilah Khalim 196 (99-97)

Boys’ Under-9
1st Marcus Lim Pang Chuen 81 (43-38)
2nd Tiu Darren 85 (45-40)
3rd Tg Muzaffar Tg Masly 87 (46-41)
4th Foo Tee Jui 89 (48-41)
5th Feirish Nor Feizal Nor 91 (46-45)
6th Isaac To Chern Yi 92 (50-42)

Girls’ Under-9
1st Sarah Mazri 96 (51-45)
2nd Janeath Wong 107 (55-52)
3rd Boey Kae Rene 122 (62-60)