Next month’s RSGC Ladies Amateur Open Championship is shaping up to be the best yet in its storied history, with a strong field of top lady amateurs from around the region including, for the first time, Australia, taking part.
The 45th edition takes place on the East Course of tournament host The Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) on August 2-4. Thus far, players from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Malaysia have signed up for the Category D World Amateur Golf Ranking event. Many of the international players will be staying on for the following week’s Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open at Awana Genting Highlands.
The Australian contingent is made up of seven promising young players from the Golf Australia junior programme, including four plus-handicappers in Lisa Edgar (+2.6), Amy Chu (+2.1), Sarah Wilson (+2) and Kono Matsumoto (+1.6).
The four-strong Philippines contingent is led by one of the nation’s most promising young golfers, the aptly-named Eagle Ace Superal who plays off +2. Her elder sister, Princess Mary, won this event in 2013 and also emerged as the girls’ under-18 champion in the following year’s RSGC Ambank Junior Open.
2018 champion Geraldine Wong of Malaysia, representing Bukit Jalil Golf Club, has confirmed that she will be defending her title. Reigning RSGC junior girls champion Dania Lau is also competing.
The players will vie for four coveted trophies – Tuanku Bahiyah (Gross Champion), Toh Puan Norashikin (Nett Champion), Datin Azian (Team Gross Champion) and Clarissa Lee (Team Nett Champion).
“For 2018, our tournament was one of only four golf competitions in Malaysia to be ranked Category D by the World Amateur Golf Ranking. We of course aspire to be on the same standing as the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open, which last year rose to Category C. However, we are still ranked the number one private club ladies amateur golf tournament in the country. This is an amazing statistic and one of which we are justifiably proud,” said RSGC lady captain and tournament organising chair Dato’ Yasmin Yusuff.
Dato’ Yasmin noted that the club has also committed its support towards The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, which is the ruling body’s global initiative to increase female participation in the game as well as the golf industry.
“After all, as I mentioned last year, according to surviving records, a prize was offered for a ladies’ handicap all the way back in 1896 – just a few years after the official opening of the club. This was the first known reference to women’s golf in Kuala Lumpur,” she said, adding that the club will be working with the Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (MALGA) to promote the game to girls in rural areas.
Psst winners of the RSGC Ladies Amateur Open include Lim Siew Ai (1994 and 1996), who went to to become the first Malaysian to play on the LPGA Tour, as well as Malaysia’s current No 1 lady amateur Loy Hee Ying (2016 and 2017) who just graduated from East Tennessee State University after a stellar collegiate golf career.
Over the last few years, the championship has also raised the bar for player hospitality in amateur golf. This year, participants will once again enjoy a designated players lounge, complimentary foot massages, professionally-led warm-up stretches as well as transfers via Kia Carnival MPVs. The hole-in-one prizes include a Mercedes-Benz A200 sponsored by NZ Wheels, a Tahitian diamond and South Sea pearl ring worth RM16,000 from La Putri and a Titoni timepiece from ATG Watch.
MKH (Metro Kajang Holdings Berhad) returns as co-sponsor of the championship, as does Poh Kong as main sponsor. The other tournament partners are Impiana KLCC (Official Hotel), 100 Plus (Official Drink), Titoni (Official Timekeeper), Kia (Official Car), the Social Group, Agile, Senheng Electric and Love18.
The championship is open to all lady amateur golfers with a USGA handicap index of 17.4 and lower. The entry fee is RM600 for non-RSGC members with the closing date set for July 25. For more information, log on to lao.thersgc.com
