Team Malaysia retained the Causeway Cup as holders following a hard-fought 14-14 tie with hosts Singapore in the 12th edition of the matchplay team event, staged on September 9-10 at Sentosa Golf Club.
Inaugurated in 2008, the Causeway Cup is a Ryder Cup-style match between members of the print and electronic media from Malaysia and their counterparts from Singapore.
Malaysian team captain Arep Kulal (L) with Singapore counterpart Darryl Wee
The first day matches were played at Sentosa’s New Tanjong Course, venue for the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The morning foursomes saw both teams deadlocked at 3.5-3.5, but Malaysia pulled ahead in the afternoon fourballs to lead 8-6 heading into the final day singles.
On an exciting final day at the Serapong Course, venue for the SMBC Singapore Open, the hosts staged a strong comeback to outscore the visitors by 8-6 and leave the overall score tied at 14 points apiece. As has become the hallmark of the Causeway Cup, the matches were played in good spirit with both teams mingling freely during the welcome dinner and prizegiving.
Malaysian team captain Arep Kulal lauded his players for their fighting spirit. “I would like to thank our team members for putting up a fantastic show and for fighting hard to earn the tie. Both teams were evenly matched and it went down to the wire.
“I would like to thank my Singapore counterpart, Darryl Wee, and all the Singapore players for being such amazing hosts. We look forward to hosting them in the 2020 edition, which will be held in Ipoh, Perak,” noted Arep, who will return as Team Malaysia captain next year along with vice-captain Ismadi Manap.
The other members of Team Malaysia were Ahmad Fadali, Mohd Aminuddin Azman, Andrew Ng, Bayu Adhi Cahyono, Brian Alexis, Brian Goh, Hasbullah Abdul Manaf, Ida Fahany, Imran Mohd Nor, Mahathir Mohd Sidi, Mohd Suhaimi Daud, Roy Chandra, Zaini Salihin and Zulkarnain Abd Talib. The event’s co-founder, Jonathan Ponniah, accompanied the Malaysian team as advisor.
The overall score now stands at seven wins for Malaysia, four for Singapore and one tie.
Group photo of both teams
