115 players aged 12-19 from 11 countries vie for team and individual titles at the fifth Selangor International Junior Golf Championship.
YOUNG talents from 11 countries will compete for team and individual honours at the fifth Selangor International Junior Golf Championship, which begins on Thursday at Seri Selangor Golf Club.
The tournament, a World Amateur Golf Ranking event, features 115 players aged 12 to 19.
Competitors will represent Bangladesh, China (Hainan), Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The field comprises 67 boys and 48 girls, competing over 54 holes in separate divisions with individual and team competitions.
The boys’ individual winner will secure a start at next week’s PKNS Selangor Masters.
If an international player wins, the top Malaysian finisher will also be given a slot.
The US$175,000 PKNS Selangor Masters is the opening event of the 2026 Asian Development Tour.
Malaysia-based Japanese player Daichi Hayashi, representing Team PKNS A, is among the players to watch.
He said: “I had a frustrating tournament last year when I was in the running for a podium finish, but I couldn’t play how I wanted to in the final round.
This year, I hope to be at the top of the leaderboard at my home club.”
Daichi, who won the Selangor Junior Masters last October with a total of six-under-par 210, added: “I’m pretty confident right now.
My distance keeps increasing year by year, and I feel all parts of my game are solid.
I had a good week here last October at the Selangor Junior Masters, and hopefully I can repeat that performance.”
Last year, Japan won both the boys’ and girls’ team events, while Korean Jung Jiwon and Thailand’s Sarisa Pojanalai took the boys’ and girls’ individual titles.
This year, Japan’s contingent includes Kouta Inoue, Koshin Nagasaki, Sakutoshi Yamazaki, Yui Sakihama, Shina Maruo, Meguri Irikura, and Ayaka Nishina.
Jung Jiwon returns to defend the boys’ title.
Other notable entrants include China’s Shijun Jing, who won the boys’ team and individual events in 2024, and Filipino Shinichi Suzuki, seeking his first individual victory after top finishes in previous editions.
Thailand’s girls’ event will be led by Tanjira Issaraphon, alongside Pattraporn Wantawee, Palinee Vimoonchart, and Chanidapa Sripa.
Malaysia’s national team of Andrew Yap, Aiden Tai John Roberts, Anthony Lim, and Ezekiel Riz Hafi Suzearitz will lead the local challenge, joined by teams from the Malaysian Golf Association, Selangor State, UUM International School Melaka, and PKNS Golf Academy.
The championship is organised by UUM International School Melaka in collaboration with the Malaysian Golf Association, sponsored by the Selangor State Government, with PKNS Golf Management Services acting as event promoter.
