Malcolm claims narrow win in Melaka
KUCHING: Malcolm Ting Siong Hung lived up to his pretournament favourite billing by winning the Toyota Tour Qualifying School Leg 1 with a narrow one-stroke margin over Hafiy Suhaili at the Tiara Melaka Golf & Country Club in Ayer Keroh, Melaka yesterday.
Overnight joint leaders at even par, their final round was like a matchplay final, with Malcolm having the initiative in the first nine, carding two birdies against two bogeys.
Hafiy on the other hand made the turn at four over, no thanks to a three-hole stretch from the sixth which saw the Kelantanese helicopter pilot go bogey-double bogey-bogey.
But that didn’t deter him as he hammered in three birdies in the second nine for a one-over 73 and a three-day 217 aggregate.
“It was a fun day and I enjoyed playing with Malcolm and Hariz (Hezri),” said Hafiy who had a grandstand finish with birdie at the last after producing an amazing approach to four feet.
Ting was quite pleased with his game overall and declared he will try to play as many events as he can including on the All-Thai circuit and Asian Development Tour events where possible.
Amateur Hariz ended up in solo third a further three strokes behind.
Tan Ying Ying, the youngest participant at 14 years old, shot a one-over 73 to finish joint fourth with U-Minn Woon, both totalling 233 and were among the 13 players from a starting field of 64 to earn playing rights on the Toyota Tour which is organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia with MST Golf the Delivery Agency.
The top 10 ranked players out of the 13 will be invited to compete in the opening round of the Toyota Tour – the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy beginning on Tuesday at Saujana Golf & Country Club.
Amateur Wan Hasnul Daniel, a product of the 2023 Toyota Tour Elite Junior development programme, closed with a oneover 73 to finish joint sixth with Hilmi Rahman who posted the day’s low round of 70.
Immediately after his round, the 19-year-old Wan Hasnul announced that he will be relinquishing his amateur status.
“This is what I have worked for and I now want to see how I fare against our top professionals,” said Wan Hasnul who credited the Elite Junior programme with developing his consistency.