Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Indonesian Jonathan Manuel Wijanto and Malaysian Ngo Yi Belle took hugely contrasting routes to victory at the 9th RSGC-SportExcel Junior Invitational Golf Championship, held at the historic Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city.
While Wijanto cruised to a runaway victory in the boys’ event, Ngo had to battle through a nail-biting sudden-death play-off with Indian Saanvi Somu before clinching the girls’ title.
The 54-hole World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event was organised by the RSGC in collaboration with the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel) for the second year running. A total of 90 players aged 18 and below from across the region took part in the championship, including 19 representatives from the Malaysian Golf Association’s Junior Development programme.
Wijanto recovered well from a shaky opening 77 at RSGC’s challenging East Course, following up with excellent rounds of 68 and 70 for a 54-hole aggregate of one-under-par 215. The 15-year-old from Surabaya finished nine shots ahead of Malaysian Joshua Lim Zhi Xing, who shot 79, 72 and 73 for a total of eight-over 224. Another local player, Jayden Ng Wei Keat, was third on 230.
Ngo, meanwhile, had to fight hard to chalk up her biggest victory yet, edging her close friend Somu on the third extra hole. Both players finished regulation play tied on 16-over 232, with the Malaysian shooting rounds of 77, 80 and 75 and the Indian carding 77, 78 and 77. Malaysian Siti Nur Husna Aina was third on 234 (80, 80, 74).
Ngo was relieved to have won the play-off with Somu. "It was very competitive. I was two behind Saanvi after day two and, to be honest, I didn’t really expect that I would win.
“But I remembered my parents' words: 'Fight on, don't give up, anything might happen, the ball is round',” said the 15-year-old, who entered the championship with a WAGR ranking of 1,129.
Ngo took part in the 2023 APGC Junior Championship at Orchard Golf & Country Club in Manila, Philippines, finishing 21st. Somu, ranked 1,031st in the WAGR, competed in this year's Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific championship at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand, where she placed tied 48th.
As the best female and male Malaysians, Ngo and Lim will be sponsored by RSGC to compete in an international tournament in Southeast Asia. Last year’s top Malaysians, Hariz Hezri and Wang Xin Yao, were sent to the Singha Thailand World Junior Championship at Royal Hua Hin Golf Club.
Established in 1893, RSGC is the oldest active golf club in Malaysia and the fourth oldest in Asia. Its East Course, comprising the first nine of the Old Course and the second nine of the New Course, has hosted numerous prestigious tournaments over the years, including the Maybank Championship in 2016.
