Thursday November 12, 2009

Youngsters rule the green

By NG WEI LOON

JUNIOR golfers produced breathtaking performances on a sensational day at the fifth leg of the SportExcel Premier-Elite circuit at the Kelab Golf Negara Subang (KGNS) recently.

The duo of Galven Kendall Green and Kiishaan Tharmalingam, competing in the combined Under-12 section, registered an impressive hole-in-one at the par-three fifth hole on the club’s Kelana course.

Teeing off: Jeremiah in action in the decider for the top spot in the boys’ Under-15 section.

Kiishaan, who is capable of driving the ball up to 180m, said he selected the right iron to reach the target at a distance of 97m away from the tee.

“It came as a surprise. But, skill also played a role in attaining the rare feat. It was spot on when I connected the shot and it went straight towards the right direction. I am confident that I could pull another hole-in-one in the future,” he added.

Coincidentally, the 10-year-old Green from Monterez Golf and Country Club and 12-year-old Kiishaan of Kota Permai Golf and Country Club also carded identical scores of 72 over 18-holes on the par-70 course.

However, Green claimed the second spot ahead of Kiishaan on countback.

Park Chang Uk emerged as the champion in the section with a stroke advantage (71) ahead of Green and Kiishaan.

Meanwhile, the tussle for the top position in the boys’ Under-15 category went down to the wire with a head-on battle between Ethan Jeremiah Chitty from Rahman Putra Golf Club and Monterez’s Jeremiah Kim Leun Kwang.

Both returned with the same effort of 69 in the 18-hole to force a sudden-death playoff.

And, the 15-year-old Ethan took only one hole to break the deadlock with a birdie on the par-four ninth hole for the victory while his 14-year-old challenger settled for a par.

The five-handicapper Ethan said he was delighted to experience better fortune to reverse his poor run in the Premier-Elite circuit this year.

“Prior to this, I have competed in three of the four legs. I played badly in all the three previous outings.

“In the sudden-death decider, my first stroke did not go as far because it went too high. After the second stroke, I knew that I had a good chance to wrap up the encounter with a good putting position on the green,” Ethan added.

In contrast, Jeremiah admitted he struggled in the mid-stage of first nine-holes when he bogeyed between the fourth and seventh holes earlier.

“I am not as sharp at teeing off today. In the playoff, I had a reasonable shot off the tee. Although the second stroke landed on a challenging position, I felt that I was still in contention because it was within my reach to putt the shot. But, my attempt clipped the corner of the hole and bounced back on the green,” the one-handicapper Jeremiah said.

Seri Selangor Golf Club’s Ng Kok Soon and Nur Durriyah Damian from Kundang Lakes Golf Club chalked up a back-to-back victories as they stayed ahead of the field in the boys’ and girls’ Under-18 categories respectively.

The recent meet drew 72 competitors in five age-groups and the top 60 contenders in the circuit will earn their places to compete at the season’s grand finals scheduled at Monterez on Nov 20.

RESULTS

FOURTH LEG

> Combined

- Under-Eight: 1. Imran Muqri Iwan Harman (Monterez) 42; 2. Victor Ng Yu Kai (Bukit Jalil) 47; 3. Tengku Muhammad Muzaffar (Kidz@Golf) 55

- Under-12: 1. Chang Ervin (Bukit Jalil) 77; 2. Park Chang Uk (Darul Ehsan) 80; 3. Sim You Jin (Rahman Putra) 81

> Boys’

- Under-15: 1. Chan Tuck Soon (Bukit Jalil) 73; 2. Ali Reza Khairuddin (Clearwater) 78 (ocb); 3. Tim Park Chan Jong (Glenmarie) 78

- Under-18: 1. Ng Kok Soon (Seri Selangor) 75; 2. Sung Woo Chang (Aman Golf School) 77; 3. Shin Seung Hyun (Aman Golf School) 81

> Girls’

- Under-18: 1. Nur Durriyah Damian (Kundang Lakes) 76; 2. Yong Mei Khuan (Saujana) 85 (ocb); 3. Genevieve Ling I-Rynn (Tentera Udara) 85

FIFTH LEG

> Combined

- Under-Eight: 1. Adam Arif Madzri (Perkhimatan Awam) 40; 2. Imran Muqri Iwan Harman (Monterez) 42; 3. Victor Ng Yu Kai (Bukit Jalil) 43

- Under-12: 1. Park Chang Uk (Darul Ehsan) 71; 2. Galven Kendall Green (Monterez) 72 (ocb); 3. Kiishaan Tharmalingam (Kota Permai) 72

> Boys’

- Under-15: 1. Ethan Jermiah Chitty (Rahman Putra) 69 (sudden-death); 2. Jeremiah Kim Leun Kwang (Monterez) 69; 3. Tim Park Chan Jong (Glenmarie) 70

- Under-18: 1. Ng Kok Soon (Seri Selangor) 71; 2. Gavin Kyle Green (Monterez) 72; 3. Idzkandar Idzhar Marappan (Royal Johor) 73 (ocb)

> Girls’

- Under-18 : 1. Nur Durriyah Damian (Kundang Lakes) 66; 2. Isza Fazira Ismail (Staffield) 69; 3. Lee Na Ra (Darul Ehsan) 75