All is ready for new campaign
PGM Tour resumes this week after a two-year absence
THE two-year absence of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, brought about by the pandemic, is just about over and will have seemed like a lifetime to some of the pros.
The Tour’s 2022 schedule gets underway in earnest this week when the four-day RM200,000 Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy will be staged at Saujana Golf & Country Club from Wednesday.
The announcement last week, that the season was set to start, was greeted with much relief and enthusiasm.
This week’s event is being held in memory of the late Tun Sarji, the founder and chairman of the Tour, who passed away last August.
It is also the only one of 10 that carries prize money of RM200,000 and played over four days.
The other nine tournaments will be 54-hole events, each carrying prize purses of RM120,000. There are also five women’s events, each worth RM20,000 in prize money and a qualifying school tournament in September.
The total prize money for the season is Rm1.39mil.
Paul San might be one player to watch when the action gets started at Saujana. He shot a nine-underpar 63 at Impian Golf & Country Club to win the seventh leg of the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM) Satellite Tour earlier this week.
That sort of form will certainly have anyone in the reckoning and could go some way earning San a first PGM Tour crown.
Muhammad Danial Faidz Jazmi, runner-up at Impian with a 68, and Shahriffuddin Ariffin, who was third with a three-under round, will also be quietly fancying their chances at Saujana.
Among others who have shown flashes of good form in the one-day events held by the PGAM and hoping to carry that form over to Saujana are Ezmeer Rezza Merican, Kim Leun Kwang, Rizal Amin, Sukree Othman, Khor Kheng Hwai and Danny Chia.
In the women’s tournament, Alyaa Abdulghany might have a say in who tops the leaderboard. The American-based player was at Impian and finished a creditable T8, having shot an even-par 72 on the day.
Kuala Lumpur Golf &Country Club Tour pro Michelle Koh registered a top-20 finish at Impian, coming home with a two-over 74 for a tie of 18th place.
Ainil Johani is also expected to be in the field on Wednesday, which should make for a interesting tournament.
Speaking to Teeup, PGM Tour general manager Nik Mustapha Nik Mohd said yesterday they were just delighted to be able to get things going again.
“The past two years have been tough on everybody, but we feel for the players. You can imagine how difficult it has been, but we are happy to be able to start again.
“We are obviously gratefully to the sponsors who came forward to support the Tour, some of them long-time partners. Sponsorship, these days, is what make sports happen, because without it, it wouldn’t be possible,” said Nik.
“We will have a full field at Saujana, so it will be nice to get the campaign off to solid start and also have the tournament in memory of Tun. We know what he meant to the players, as well as the Tour and golf fraternity as a whole,” he added.
Saujana general manager S.A. Nathan said they were looking forward to the first event of the season and added that the Palm “Cobra” course is in good shape to welcome the pros.
“We have been working on getting the whole place prepared for the tournament and as we speak, everything is in order,” said Nathan.
“We’ve had the greens running true and fast for some time now, so it will be interesting to see how the pros navigate them.”