Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open still short of funds
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Course in Bukit Kiara from May 29-31.
Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (Malga) president Tunku Puteri Jawahir Tuanku Ja’afar said that after the last three years at the Mines Golf Resort, the opportunity to host the meet at another premier course-like klggc has elevated the status of the championship.
“KLGCC has become a landmark and is also the venue of the Sime Darby ladies professional golf association (LPGA) event,” she said.
The closing date for entries is April 20 and Malga expect top amateur golfers from neighbouring countries to participate as well.
“Last year we had golfers from Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Norway, Thailand and Indonesia. We are expecting more this year,” said Tunku Puteri Jawahir.
The president also thanked the sponsors– Mazda, Apple Vacations Sdn Bhd, KLGCC, Shiseido, Gatorade (official drink) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as Ministry of Tourism – for their continued support.
“However, we are still short of funds and Malga are appealing to corporate organisations and wellwishers to come forward and support us,” she said.
Tunku Puteri Jawahir added that their development programmes were progressing well.
“Our ‘Golf For Girls’ grassroots programme, which was initiated in 2006, has produced top players such as Kelly Tan ( Batu Pahat) and Aretha Pan (Kota Kinabalu),” she said.
Kelly, now based in Brisbane, Australia, is the defending champion of the Open.
“Nur Durriyah Damian won the Under-16 Asia Grand Finals of the Nick Faldo series at Mission Hills, China, last week and will play alongside Faldo in the Grand Finals in Ireland.
“There are many more girls who are champions in the making but they need support. We need more funds to groom them with proper training by qualified coaches as well as to expose them to top level international tournaments.”
Malga will organise the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Closed and Junior closed championship at staffield Golf Resort from April 19-20.
They will serve as a warm-up for the Team Malaysia players who will be competing in the 34th Queen Sirikit Cup at the Tanah Merah Golf and Country Club in Singapore from April 28-30.
The players selected to represent Team Malaysia in Singapore are Aretha Pan, Kelly Tan and Viviene Chin.