Robust Year for Malaysia’s SportExcel Junior Circuit

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The SportExcel Junior Golf Tour in Malaysia will scale new heights this year, with five international events highlighting a robust schedule.

The 2026 circuit is expected to feature a total of 14 tournaments, starting with the recent SportExcel International Junior Championship at Glenmarie Golf Country Club, which attracted 111 players from 10 nations. Apart from the usual Junior Tour and elite legs, an additional four international competitions are on the cards – the US Kids Golf Malaysian Championship in April, the Malaysian leg of the Hainan Golf Association Junior Tour in July, and two more SportExcel international events in the final quarter of the year.

The SportExcel circuit is run by the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (known in short as SportExcel), a non-profit body established in 1991 by Tunku Tan Sri Imran ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar.

Today, SportExcel supports elite development in 11 sports, with golf being the only sport for which it runs its own events. Tunku Imran is one of the most respected sports administrators in the region, having served as President of the World Squash Federation, the Olympic Council of Malaysia, and the Commonwealth Games Federation.

SportExcel Executive Director C. Sivanandan noted that international exposure is a vital element in the development of elite juniors.

He said: “SportExcel understands the importance of international exposure for the development of elite players, so we are organising more international championships locally to give opportunities to our local talents. Under our reciprocal programme, we also send players to India, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Australia for tournaments. The reciprocal arrangements with other junior tours and bodies commenced in 2015, under which all costs are taken care of by the host for four to six players and one manager per trip.

“We also sent players to the OK Dutch Junior Open in the Netherlands last July, where they offered us free entry and accommodation. This will be an annual affair, and we aim to send players to Europe and the USA this year for even wider exposure.”

Sivanandan said that SportExcel intends to expand its footprint by working with the PGA of Malaysia and golf academies in other countries. “It will be an exciting year for our golf programme. We have also introduced live scoring for all our local tour events and international championships,” he said.

Japan's Kenshi Yada and Brittany Pauline Tamayo of the Philippines won the overall boys' and girls' titles respectively at the SportExcel International Junior Championship. The tournament was a huge success, earning praise from visiting teams and managers.

“Apart from the opening ceremony, we hosted two dinners for the team managers – courtesy of Alpha Sports Sabah and Corporate Information Travel. Following the final round, we organised a KL City Tour sponsored by Tourism Malaysia for 65 overseas players and parents,” said Sivanandan.