Afif thrilled to make senior debut at Nomura Cup

PETALING JAYA: Muhd Afif Fathi (pic) can’t wait to make his long-awaited senior debut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf men’s team championship, also known as the Nomura Cup, next week.

The 17-year-old will join seasoned duo Chan Tuck Soon and Mohd Afif Razif and another debutant K. Rhaasrikanesh as they go up against 24 other nations in the prestigious biennial meet at the Sungai Long Golf and Country Club in Cheras from Nov 9-12.

Afif, last year’s 100PLUS Malaysian Junior Open winner, had missed out on two major outings earlier – the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August and the Putra Cup (men’s South-East Asian Team Championships) in September.

“I’m finally going to earn my first senior cap at the Nomura Cup. I’m thrilled to bits,” said Afif, who studies at the REAL International School.

“I was picked to play in the Putra Cup but I couldn’t make it as I had promised the PGM (Professional Golf of Malaysia) that I’d feature for them in the PGM vs IGT (Indonesia Golf Tour) match play event in Indonesia.

“As for the SEA Games, I couldn’t attend the selection as I had to sit for my O-Level examinations.”

Afif is no stranger to team competitions, having represented Malaysia twice in the Lion City Cup (boys’ Under-17 South-East Asian Team Championship) and the Malaysian Golf Association-Singapore Golf Association annual friendly team match play.

Now, he’s ready to help Malaysia achieve their top-10 target at the Nomura Cup.

“Looking at my progress and form, I’m aiming to be in the top 10 for individual standings. Hopefully, that’ll help the team to a top 10 finish as well,” he said.

“Although we are without our two best guys – Ervin (Chang) and Galven (Green) – I think a top-10 target for the team is achievable.”