JAPAN made it a debut to remember at the 4th Selangor International Junior Golf Championship, winning both the boys’ and girls’ team titles in cloudy and humid conditions at Seri Selangor Golf Club.
Represented by players from the Hills Golf Tommy Academy, the Japanese contingent showcased solid and consistent golf to triumph against a strong field comprising 127 golfers from 14 nations.
In the girls’ event, Team Japan powered their way to a runaway wire-to-wire victory at the challenging Seri Selangor course. The quartet of Yuka Nishina (73, 69, 73), Mana Yoshizaki (70, 77, 71), Tsukiha Nakashima (74, 75, 71) and Rui Hatada (74, 77, 73) combined for a final round score of one-under-par 215 (based on the best three out of four daily scores) to post a tournament total of five-over-par 653 (217, 221, 215).
Trailing 15 strokes behind in second place was the Thai team of Sarisa Pojanalai, Chutimon Rujiranan, Satonkan Thiengsri and Krittiya Thanintomdamrongdej on 20-over-par 668 (222, 223, 223). Team Singapore, represented by Chen Xingtong, Amelie Ng, Chloe Ng and Anjanette Tanare, finished a distant third on 50-over-par 698 (236, 227, 235).
The boys’ event meanwhile saw the Japanese team of Taisei Nagasaki (73, 76, 67), Sakutoshi Yamazaki (74, 66, 78), Miller Sato (76, 74, 72) and Yutaka Saito (82, 74, 70) pull away from the pack with a final day combined score of seven-under-par 209. Their total of two-under-par 646 (223, 214, 209) placed them 12 shots clear of the Thai team of Thanattasorn Supinraj, Kobsak Phisibuntoon, Pongpanot Jeenakul and Sarunyapong Hongamata on 10-over-par 658.
The Malaysian Golf Association team of Anson Yeo Boon Xiang, Andrew Yap, Nathan Wong Tsen Jack and Ezekiel Riz Hafi Suzearitz surged up into third place on 16-over-par 664 following a final round score of 218, edging first round leaders Philippines (Shinichi Suzuki, Miko Granada, Tristan Padilla and Santino Pineda) by two strokes.
Japan team manger Yuki Hayashi was elated with his players’ fine performances.
“The Japanese team is participating in this event for the first time, and they had a very pleasant experience here. The Seri Selangor course is very tough and has an excellent design, and is very different from the courses we have in Japan, so it was a good experience for them,” said Hayashi.
The Japanese team received US$1,000 for each of their victories for a total of US$2,000. In a magnanimous gesture, they donated US$1,000 to the PKNS Golf Academy.
Hayashi’s son, Daichi, is based in Malaysia and was part of the PKNS Golf Academy team for this year’s championship. He finished 10th on five-over-par 221 (74, 70, 77) in what was his fourth consecutive appearance in the event.
The individual girls’ and boys’ titles meanwhile went to Thailand’s Sarisa Pojanalai and Korea’s Jung Ji Won, respectively.
Pojanalai carded a final round 71 for a three-under-par 213 total (72, 70, 71) , two strokes clear of runner-up Yuka Nishina of Japan (73, 69, 73). Vietnam’s Le Chuc An, the leader for the first two days, fell back with a closing 76 and settled for third place on even-par 216 (67, 73, 76).
Jung meanwhile stood head and shoulders above the rest in the boys’ individual event, powering his way to a seven-shot victory with an impressive total of 10-under-par 206 (67, 69, 70). Thailand's Thanattasorn Supinraj was runner-up on three-under-par 213 (71, 73, 69), two shots ahead of Malaysia's Anson Yeo (71, 73, 71) and Shinichi Suzuki of the Philippines (70, 71, 74).
As the boys’ individual champion and leading Malaysian respectively, Jung and Yeo earned invitations to next week’s PKNS Selangor Masters which is the season-opener for both the Asian Development Tour and domestic Professional Golf of Malaysia Tour. The US$200,000 event will also be played at Seri Selangor.
Organized by UUMISM in collaboration with the MGA, the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship is sponsored by the Selangor State Government with PKNS Golf Management Services acting as event promoter. The championship is a full-hospitality event, and participants are provided with accommodation, transfers and meals.
