Amir safely negotiates tough test
Single-handicapper clinches title amid stiff competition at popular tournament
THE Yamaha ilovegolf tournament at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Shah Alam, Selangor enjoyed the privilege of being oversubscribed and had a full field who were offered the opportunity to test the club manufacturer’s latest products, the Inpres UD+2 irons.
In an event with some of the country’s leading amateur players, three-handicapper Amir Benno captured the top prize.
He signed for 40 Stableford points to finish first, while Ahmad Marzuki, who played off a two, clinched second place on countback – another point back on 39.
Ten-handicapper S.P. Maniam settled for third place, as the countback was determined on handicap.
Maniam, a regular at the ilovegolf tournaments and often on the page of the leaderboard, said he was happy with his performance and only lost out to better players on the day.
“Like always, the tournament was an enjoyable one. But with talented players in it, the competition was stiff as can be seen from the scores,” he said.
“Also, the event was well organised and that makes a huge difference for the participants who really come out to play as best as they can and have a good time at the same time.”
The winners chose their prizes from a selection of goods sponsored by the event’s marketing partners, who included Colantotte, Garmin and Carlsberg alongside title sponsor Yamaha.
In the novelty contests, Azizul Azri Abdul Aziz won the Nearestto-Pin prize when his ball came to rest not more than 4.84m from the flagstick.
Mohd Farisyal Mohd Alias won the Garmin Experience hole, a Nearest-to-Pin challenge, after he knocked his tee shot to within 2.21m of the cup. For his efforts, he was awarded a Garmin Approach S6 GPS golf watch.
Norzaidi Che Ismail and Jalaludin Rofaat captured the Nearest-to-Line prizes after both finished 21cm from the mark.
The Longest Drive honours went to Darren Tan, who bombed his ball 315m down the fairway.
Each of the winners went home with a Yamaha RMX caddie bag.
MST Golf managing director K.P. Low said they were pleased with the overwhelming response from the loyalty card programme members, who now number more than 50,000.
“We are happy and grateful for the support received from the ilovegolf members,” said Low. “We are equally delighted with how things turned out on competition day and the top-quality golf exhibited by the players.”
The participants were offered the chance to try out the newly launched Yamaha Impres UD+2 irons at Hole 15 as well as the new Garmin Approach Z80 Laser range finder. Visit mstgolf.com for more information.
Results – Overall: 1. Amir Benno (3) 40, 2. Ahmad Marzuki (2) 39ocb, 3. S.P. Maniam (10) 39.
Novelty prizes – Nearest-toPin: Azizul Azri Abdul Aziz 4.84m. Garmin Experience Hole: Mohd Farisyal Mohd Alias 2.21m. Nearest-to-Line: Norzaidi Che Ismail 21cm and Jalaludin Rofaat 21cm. Longest Drive: Darren Tan 315m.