Senior Cup: Sabah Golf Association dethrone S’wak

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Golf Association (SGA) emerged as the champions in the 2nd Senior SGA Cup which ended at the Sabah Golf and Country Club (SGCC) yesterday.

The state senior golfers registered a 14-10 victory over the defending champions Sarawak Golf Association.

The victory did not come easy as Sabah, playing hosts in the second edition of the team competition played to the format of the fame Ryder-Cup, were given a tough challenge by the visiting side.

In fact, the teams were tied after finishing the first two rounds of the three-day tournament which started on November 28.

The golfers went into the first rounds of matches playing in the Foursome format which ended in a 3-3 tie.

The teams resumed their battle on the second day of challenge for the Four-Ball format but again the score was tied at 3-3, thus setting up an exciting finale.

With the total scores at 6-6, the title decider went all the way to the wire with the Individual rounds where the host did not disappoint.

Based on 12 singles matches, Sabah proved their prowess by winning 6.5 points in the first six matches that all but confirmed their victory.

Sabah would win another oneand-half-point in the next five games to secure an 8-4 win for their total of 14-10 overall score.

The victory was made even memorable for it was the state’s first Senior SGA Cup title after having lost heavily in the inaugural event to Sarawak last year.

For the record, the Senior SGA Cup was initiated by the Sarawak Golf Association’s president, Hoan Kee Hock, where the objective was to bring together leading senior golfers from the neighbouring states to compete as a team for the trophy.

The winning side of Sabah was led by captain Peter Tan and team manager Ranjeet Singh.

The other state senior golfers were Desmond Jong, Noor Salleh, Ng Loong Fah, Peter Kong, Lim Lam Seng, Louis Samy, Tan Lim, Martin Wong, Datu Guldah Keri, Datuk Yong Yau Pin and Wong Soo Kong.

The Sarawak squad comprised Edward Chin, Bernard Ling, Abd Abd Rahman, Albert Tanon, Francis Nguoi, Zayadi Sebli, Muas Sebli, Aziz Sahari, Jimmy Teo, Wong Lay Nam, Joseph Lau and Yek Chin Chung.