Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Korea's Byun Ji-yool and China's Jing Shijun claimed the individual girls' and boys' titles respectively at the third Selangor International Junior Golf Championship.
Byun coasted to a three-stroke victory in the girls’ individual event and powered the South Korean team to the girls’ team title. Meanwhile, Jing overcame a nervous finish to claim the boys’ individual title and lead the team from Hainan, China, to top place in the boys’ team event.
Taking a three-shot lead into the third and final round at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor, Byun ended her campaign with a two-over-par 74 for an even-par total of 216 (72, 70, 74). The 14-year-old finished three shots clear of Thailand’s Chutimon Rujiranan (71, 76, 72) and Malaysian Foong Zi Yu (72, 74, 73).
“I can't believe that I won! It feels unreal, but I'm very happy. I really enjoyed playing in this event and my stay here,” said Byun.
Byun and her South Korean team-mates Ko Hana, Park Ha-yeon and Song Jia were runaway winners in the girls’ team event with a three-day total of 657, based on the best three daily scores. They finished 27 shots ahead of Team Selangor (684), made up of Foong, Nur Batrisya Balqis, Aarti Ganesan and Divyasheni Gunasegar.
In the boys’ individual event, Jing also posted a three-shot victory but had to overcome nerves down Seri Selangor's testing closing stretch. He signed off with a closing 72 for a total of six-under 210 (69, 69, 72) and a wire-to-wire victory.
“My round was quite good. It was just on the last few holes that I made a few mistakes as I was getting nervous and feeling tired. I made four birdies on the first nine but, after playing for three days, the fatigue started catching up and so a few mistakes that shouldn't have happened, did happen,” said Jing.
The victory earned Jing a start in next week’s PKNS Selangor Masters at Seri Selangor, a professional event co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour and the domestic Toyota Tour.
Shinichi Suzuki of the Philippines finished with a 69 to surge up the leaderboard into second place on three-under 213 (72, 72, 69), edging Australian Josiah Edwards for runner-up honours by one shot. Edwards also enjoyed a good finish, carding a tournament low four-under 68 for a 214 (75, 71, 68) total.
Going into the last round two shots behind Jing, India’s 14-year-old talent Kartik Singh settled for fifth place on one-under 215 (70, 70, 75). He was pipped for fourth spot by compatriot Harman Sachdeva (73, 71, 71) on countback.
Jing and his China (Hainan) team-mates Zeng Guolin, Cao Mingyu and Lyu Ziyao took the boys’ team title with a total of 643, 11 shots ahead of Team Philippines comprising Suzuki, Jacob Cajita, Zeus Sara and Miko Granada.
Sponsored by the Selangor State Government, the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship is organised by UUM International School Melaka (UUMISM) in collaboration with the Malaysian Golf Association. PKNS Golf Management Services acts as the event promoter. Participants were fully hosted during the week for accommodation, green fees, transfers and meals.
The World Amateur Golf Ranking featured a field of 123 players from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
