Ladies team off to Dublin?
Malga awaiting a response on whether to send a contingent to the World Amateurs
THERE is a good likelihood that Malaysia could be represented at this year’s World Amateur Team Championships at Carton House Spa & Golf Hotel in Maynooth, Dublin, Ireland - by a ladies team at least.
This was the positive view expressed by Malaysian Ladies Amateur Golf Association (Malga) executive director Datuk Rabeahtul Aloya A. Abbas, who said they had submitted a short list of players to the Malaysian Golf Association for ratification.
“We are awaiting a response from the MGA on the matter and expect it to maybe come through next week sometime,” she said. “We are not sure as to the status of the men’s team whether it’s going or not, but we (Malga) would like to send a team of our own.
“We have been advised by the MGA that they will not be able to send a ladies team, given their financial constraints.
“However, we’ve responded by saying that we will meet the expenses of the ladies team as we consider this an important championship, both in global terms and the exposure the players would gain from it.
The event will take place at Carton House, in Maynooth, near Dublin, from Aug 29 to Sept 8.
The ladies event at the World Amateur Team Championship is the Espirito Santo Trophy and will be contested for from Aug 29 to Sept 1, while the men’s event is the Eisenhower Trophy and will be played from Sept 5 to 8.
Both tournaments are to be staged on the O’Meara courses at Carton House.
In another development, Rabeahtul confirmed that the 35th Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open will take place at Palm Garden Golf Club in Putrajaya from Aug 1 to 3.
“This is a huge international tournament that draws players from around the region. This year we are expecting a field of about 80 players from about 12 countries. The closing date for entries is July 1.
“As you’d expect with an event of this caliber, the standard of play is high, given the quality of players.”
The Malga director added that there would be three categories being contested. These are the championship elite, for players with a handicap of nine and below, a mid-amateur championship for those with handicaps of 24 and below and a seniors category for players 50 and above.
“With this sort of format we get a wider range of players participating at their own levels of skills. Especially for the midamateurs, this allows players to get a chance to feature in the event.”
Rabeahtul said that they were expecting a few of their overseas based players in the field, including top-ranked Loy Hee Ying.
Ranked 132 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, she is streets ahead of Ashley Lau Jen Wen, the next best paced Malaysian - 337th place.
Also expected in the line up will be Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari, Winnie Ng, Natasha Andrea Oon and Geraldine Xiao Xuan Wong.
With regards to the Jakarta Asian Games, set for Aug 23 to 26, Rabeahtul said they had submitted a short list to MGA and were likewise awaiting a response on the matter.
“We are not sure what the status is with that one” she added.