Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Malaysia’s brightest young talents and leading junior players from across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond will converge at The Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) in next month’s ninth edition of the RSGC-SportExcel Junior Invitational Golf Championship.
The prestigious championship will be hosted by RSGC, the oldest active golf club in Malaysia dating back to 1893, in collaboration for the second year running with the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel). To be played from May 14-16 at RSGC’s East Course, the 54-hole World Amateur Golf Ranking event is sanctioned by the Malaysian Golf Association.
The invitational championship will welcome up to 96 competitors aged 18 and below across both genders, consisting of players with handicap indices of 10.6 and below for boys, and 13.4 and lower for girls.
The field will include leading players from the long-established SportExcel National Junior Circuit and 19 elite amateurs from the Malaysian Golf Association’s Junior Development Programme. The roster also boasts participants from Singapore, Australia, Britain, India, Indonesia and Korea.
The East Course is RSGC’s championship composite layout, consisting of the first nine of the Old Course and the second nine of the New Course. The strategic, tree-lined course has hosted numerous high-profile tournaments, including the Maybank Championship in 2016.
“It gives us great pleasure to once again welcome friends from across Malaysia and around the region for another edition of the RSGC-SportExcel Junior Invitational Golf Championship. This is the ninth year of the annual tournament, and it is a particularly special occasion for us as it will be our second collaboration with SportExcel, an official body that supports and promotes junior golfing in Malaysia,” said Organising Chairman Ezani Abu Bakar.
“I thank RSGC for giving SportExcel the honour of being part of this international championship. What the juniors here need when they reach a certain level is more international competition and this championship is in line with that objective,” said SportExcel Executive Director C. Sivanandan, adding that they expect this year’ field to surpass the 2023 edition in quantity and quality.
Tournament Director Dr Chew Seng Poh noted that the East Course will be set up to provide a fitting challenge for the elite juniors. “The course will play around 6,700 yards for the boys, while for the girls it will be set up to about 6,000 yards. This is an elite competition and we will make it as competitive as possible for all the players.”
RSGC will once again sponsor the leading Malaysian boy and leading Malaysian girl for an international event in Southeast Asia. Last year, boys’ champion Hariz Hezri and top Malaysian girl Wang Xin Yao were sent to Thailand to compete in the Singha Thailand World Junior Championship at Royal Hua Hin Golf Club, where they both finished in the top 10.
Hariz will not be defending his title as he is past the age limit, while 2023 girls’ champion Sania Talita Wahyudi of Indonesia is expected to return.
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