KUALA LUMPUR: The US$1 million (RM4.6 million) Malaysian Open golf is set to return after a three-year hiatus, with the 2024 edition hoping to be accepted as one of the qualifying tournaments for the prestigious British Open (The Open) 2024.
If successful, it will surely elevate the status of the Malaysian Open, which was not held for the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and draw the attention of prominent golfers when it tees off under the Asian Tour at the Mines Resort and Golf Club here from Feb 15-18.
Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) president Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor said they have applied to the organiser of The Open, the Royal & Ancient (R&A) Golf Club of St Andrews in the United Kingdom, to get the qualifier status.
“We are still waiting for confirmation from the R&A... the announcement (will come) from the Asian Tour Commissioner. If the R&A confirms that the top two or three players will qualify for The Open, I am sure many top golfers will come to play (in the Malaysian Open),” he said during the tournament press conference here today.
The 152nd edition of the world’s oldest golf tournament - The Open - is scheduled to be held at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland from July 18-21. Founded in 1860, The Open offered a whopping US$16.5 million prize purse for the 2023 edition and is one of the world’s four majors in men’s golf.
Meanwhile, Mohd Anwar said about 25 to 28 Malaysian golfers, including four amateurs, will get a chance to tee off in the Malaysian Open, which was last held in March 2020 at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Shah Alam, after which the COVID-19 outbreak put a pause to the global sporting scene.
He said popular national golfers Gavin Green, Shahriffuddin Ariffin, Ben Leong and Ervin Chang have all qualified (to play in the Malaysian Open) based on their rankings, while others will be confirmed later based on their rankings in the 2023 Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour (known as Toyota Tour).
Earlier, investment firm IRS Prima Holding was announced as the title sponsor of the Malaysian Open for three years until 2026.
Mohd Anwar said IRS Prima Holding would cover the US$1 million a year prize money and support other expenses related to the organising of the tournament, adding that the prize purse would be reviewed for the 2027 edition.
American Trevor Simsby claimed the most recent title in 2020 after winning the three-way playoff against Australia’s Andrew Dodt and American Jarin Todd.
The best-ever achievement by a local golfer since its inception in 1962 was the second-place finish in 1994 by the late P. Gunasegaran, who lost the title to Sweden’s Joachim Haeggman after a thrilling eight-hole playoff. –Bernama
