Ben to miss PGM-IGT golf meet due to passport issue

PETALING JAYA: The Professional Golf of Malaysia ( PGM) Tour will be without key member Ben Leong (pic) ahead of this week’s clash against their Indonesian counterparts in the second edition of the PGM-IGT Championship.

The three-day Ryder Cup-style tournament will take place at the Riverside Golf Club in Bogor on Wednesday.

The 12-man team led by captain R. Nachimuthu left for Indonesia yesterday as Ben stayed at home due to passport issue.

The 31-year-old’s passport is currently at the South Korea embassy for a visa application to play at the Asian Tour’s Shinhan Donghae Open from Sept 14-17.

“I’ll only get back my passport the earliest on Thursday,” said Ben.

“It’s a shame that I can’t make it as I always enjoy the team match-play competition. You don’t get to play it often.

“Nevertheless I wish the guys the best and hopefully they return with the trophy.”

In the inaugural championship last year – held in a stroke-play format – Ben came out tops in the individual competition and his effort of a 10-under 206 led PGM to a whopping 92-shot win over their rivals at the Kota Seriemas Golf and Country Club in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.

Besides Nachimuthu, the other 11 players in the PGM squad are Khor Kheng Hwai, Shahriffuddin Ariffin, Sukree Othman, M. Sasidaran, Irfan Yusoff, Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf, Kemarol Baharin, Kenneth Tobuse, Kim Leun-kwang, Amir Nazrin Jailani and Airil Rizman Zahari.

The Malaysians are also without the services of the top-three ranked professionals – Gavin Kyle Green, Nicholas Fung and Danny Chia.

Asian Tour winners Nicholas and Danny are in Switzerland for the European Tour’s Omega European Masters while Gavin is training abroad.