Junior golfer hangs on against foreign rivals
It was particularly tough for him as no buggy was allowed and he played under Level 1 heatwave across Selangor with the temperature hitting 40 degrees at mid-day.
Felix Fong
KUCHING: Up-and-coming Sarawak junior golfer Sebastian Zane Fong reached another milestone when he clinched a major international win at the recent US Kids Malaysian Championship held at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Shah Alam, Selangor.
The 11-year old Year 7 student at Tun Putra HELP International School shot a 10-over par 236 to top the nine-player field which included players from Vietnam, South Korea, China and Malaysia. Finishing in second place eight strokes behind Sebastian was compatriot Arrjun Rudra Anilarasu from Penang while Vietnam’s Christian Berg was third on 247 strokes.
This is also the first major win for Sebastian this year and it was secured under very trying conditions.
“It was particularly tough for him as no buggy was allowed and he played under Level 1 heatwave across Selangor with the temperature hitting 40 degrees at mid-day,” Sebastian’s father Felix Fong told The Borneo Post.
Sebastian will next be heading to the US Kids European Championship to be held in Scotland from May 28-30.
US Kids Golf is a platform to grow and develop grassroots players as young as five. It originated in the United States and has now expanded to many countries. Junior players can earn status points through its local and regional events to qualify for bigger tournaments.
According to Felix who is a member of Sarawak Golf Club, his son picked up the game when he was six years old.
“Since young, I have been coaching him personally with the guidance of KGS resident pro Malkit Singh and he has been doing well since last year,” he said.
Some of Sebastian’s notable achievements in 2023 were Boys Age 9-10 champion at the New Zealand South Island Championship in January, 3rd at the PPTV International Junior Golf Championship in Pattaya, Thailand in May, Boys Age 10-12 champion at the Srixon Malaysian Junior Development Tour at Kelab Golf Miri in June, and tied for 43rd place at FCG Callaway World Championship at Palm Springs, California in the US where he played as a qualifier.