Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The inaugural US Kids Golf Malaysian Championship presented by Mazda saw a diverse range of players from 10 countries triumph at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club.
Korea, China and hosts Malaysia picked up two titles each from the 13 categories, while players from the Philippines, India, Singapore, Lithuania, Germany, Indonesia and Thailand rounded up the winners’ roster.
In the Boys’ 15-18 category, Korean Park Jae-min was a runaway winner with a 54-hole aggregate of three-under-par 213 following rounds of 72, 73 and 68 at Glenmarie’s Garden Course. He finished 18 shots head of Thailand’s Joel Francis Fisher.
The Girls’ 15-18 category, meanwhile, saw Thailand’s Kornchanok Triyakul top the standings with a five-over-par 221 total following daily scores of 71, 76 and 74. Indonesian Renoctoviana Ramadhiani Said was runner-up on 224.
More than 100 juniors from 16 countries took part In the championship, organised by the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel). Last June, SportExcel signed a three-year agreement with US Kids Golf Asia for the sole rights to host and manage the Malaysian chapter of the worldwide franchise. Following the success of six one-day US Kids Golf local events staged by SportExcel in late 2023, the series will be expanded to 18 events from May to July this year.
“The players had a wonderful time at the tournament, despite the heat and humidity. The Garden Course proved to be a real challenge for the players, especially those aged 12 and below,” said SportExcel Executive Director C. Sivanandan.
“Overall, we’re happy with the inaugural championship, especially the Golf Genius online scoring which was a first for SportExcel. We are grateful to the President of US Kids Golf Asia, Rajesh Srivastava, for entrusting us as organiser of the Malaysian championship.”
Off the golf course, the players and their parents were treated to a welcome dinner following the first round with cultural dances and musical performances provided by Tourism Selangor and the Ministry of Youth & Sports. A trip to the Sunway Lagoon theme park was also organised by Tourism Selangor for the international players following the conclusion of the championship.
More than 1,600 US Kids Golf tournaments are staged worldwide with a Priority Status system enabling players to enter the bigger events, including the blue-ribbon US Kids Golf World Championships and US Kids Golf World Teen Championship at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. SportExcel has been running a nationwide junior golf circuit since 1992 which includes elite and international events that carry World Amateur Golf Ranking points.
CATEGORY WINNERS
Boys 15-18: Park Jae-min (KOR) – 213 (72-73-68)
Boys 13-14: Geon Kang (KOR) – 218 (74-71-73)
Boys 12: Dominykas Petkevicius (LTU) – 217 (75-72-70)
Boys 11: Sebastian Zane Fong (MAS) – 236 (80-79-77)
Boys 10: Aoran Zhang (CHN) – 224 (73-77-74)
Boys 9: Noble Hsu (SIN) – 234 (83-74-77)
Boys 8: Divjot Guota (IND) – 113 (40-37-36)
Boys 7 & Under: Lucas De Guzman (PHI) – 96 (38-39-19)
Girls 15-18: Kornchanok Triyakul (THA) – 221 (71-76-74)
Girls 13-14: Enxi Wang (CHN) – 225 (76-77-72)
Girls 11-12: Jane Sim (MAS) – 224 (70-75-79)
Girls 9-10: Annabelle Leimena (INA) – 223 (78-71-74)
Girls 8 & Under: Glory-Lily Hong (GER) – 88 (34-34-20)
Note: The Boys 8, Boys 7 & Under and Girls 8 & Under categories were contested over three nine-hole rounds. The final round for the latter two categories was not completed due to inclement weather and was based on five holes under the U.S. Kids Golf rules.
