Proactive amateur
Ervin out to hold his own against Major winner and Asian stars
PETALING JAYA: National No. 1 amateur golfer Ervin Chang is relishing the prospect of teeing up alongside Major winner Sergio Garcia of Spain and other Asian stars at the SMBC Singapore Open next month.
The 20-year-old earned his rare professional event start by virtue of being the winner of the Singapore Amateur Open in July.
Ervin will be one of the four amateurs besides Singapore trio Joshua Ho, Lucius Toh and James Leow to join the star-studded 132man field in the US$1mil (RM4.16mil) tournament, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour at the Sentosa Golf Club from Jan 17-20.
“I can’t wait for the big week to arrive,” said Ervin, who juggles between studies and collegiate golf at the Florida-based Liberty University in the United States.
“I accepted the invitation pretty fast when I won the amateur title in July. I even got the permission to return to school a little later (he’s currently on winter break) because it’s a notable tournament.
“I’m looking forward to playing alongside the cream of the crop of the Asian and Japan Tour.
“There’s also Sergio, who’s returning to defend his title and Matthew Fitzpatrick (fivetime European Tour champion from England). I’m thrilled to bits.”
It will only be Ervin’s third major professional start, having previously received invi- tations to play in the European Tour’s Malaysian Open in 2014 and Maybank Championship in 2016. He missed the cut on both occasions.
But this time, Ervin is heading to Singapore buoyed by his outstanding performances that saw him notch three victories and eight top10 results in 17 events this year.
He became the first Malaysian to win the amateur title in Singapore in 71 years and also captured the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Open in August. Then, there is the memorable maiden win in the Sea Best Invitational at the renowned TPC Sawgrass in Florida in February.
“It’ll be a good learning week for me. I’m using the tournament to gauge where I stand among the pros.
“A decent finish will certainly boost my self-confidence, and provide me a benchmark to work toward a professional career.”
Having ended the year at a career-best No. 121 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Ervin now sets his sights on sneaking into the top 50.
“My dream is to finish in the top 50. It’ll open doors to more top level tournaments for me in the US, for instance the US Open Amateur and South Beach International Amateur in Florida.
“Another goal of mine is to be among the honorees of the Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar.
“To be selected, I must be equally excellent in both golf and academics. It’s a prestigious award.”
The other Malaysians competing in the Singapore Open are Nicholas Fung, Ben Leong and Shahrifuddin Ariffin.
Last year, Gavin Kyle Green was the bestplaced Malaysian after finishing in a tie for eighth.