Golf fans will be in for a real treat when the cream of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and leading Malaysians from the domestic Toyota Tour battle for glory in the PKNS Selangor Masters, which tees off at Seri Selangor Golf Club today (November 8).
Co-sanctioned by the two tours, the PKNS Selangor Masters is the first stop of the closing three-event stretch on this year’s ADT and is also the penultimate tournament of the 2023 Toyota Tour. There is thus much to play for this week at Seri Selangor, not only for a share of the USD175,000 purse, but also in the race to determine the top 10 players on the ADT’s final Order of Merit who will earn their Asian Tour cards for 2024.
Current Order of Merit leader Deyen Lawson of Australia leads a strong cast of ADT players as they strive to gain promotion to the lucrative Asian Tour. Having claimed his first ADT title at last month’s Indo Masters Golf Invitational presented by TNE, Lawson is one of five winners from the 2023 ADT season in the field, along with fellow Aussie Aaron Wilkin, Indonesia’s Naraajie Ramadhanputra, Japan’s Naoki Sekito and Thai player Pattaraphol Khanthacha.
Gavin Green will spearhead the Malaysian challenge
Spearheading the local challenge is the country’s number one golfer, Gavin Green, along with a host of other leading Malaysian professionals including his younger brother Galven, Ervin Chang, Paul San and Amir Nazrin.
The younger Green recently broke through for his first professional win at the Toyota Tour’s Alphard Cup in Negeri Sembilan, while Chang claimed his maiden professional title at the Mirai Cup in Sarawak earlier this year. Two other winners from the 2023 Toyota Tour, Edven Ying and Daeng Abdul Rahman, are also competing this week.
San is the leading Malaysian on the ADT Order of Merit in 21st spot, followed by Amir (26th), Chang (27th) and Green (34th). With the lucrative prize money on offer, they will be pumped up to do well at Seri Selangor and move up the rankings.
Chang is the current Toyota Tour Order of Merit leader, while San and Green lie third and fourth respectively.
To further motivate the local talents, the best Malaysian finisher this week will receive an additional RM10,000 on top of the tournament prize money.
Since its inception in 2007, the Selangor Masters has seen two Malaysian winners in Ben Leong, who won the second edition in 2008, and Shahriffuddin Ariffin who was triumphant last year. Both Leong and Shahriffuddin are competing in this week’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour.
PKNS Selangor Masters practise round on Tuesday
Back for another bite at the title is 2022 runner-up Denwit Boriboonsub of Thailand, who will be keen to make amends for last year’s narrow loss to Shahriffuddin. The duo fought out an enthralling battle in a rollercoaster final round at Seri Selangor, with the Malaysian emerging as the winner by two shots.
The invited players include up-and-coming Chinese amateur Yixiang Wang, the boys’ champion of the 1st Selangor International Junior Golf Championship held at Seri Selangor in January this year. He will be joined by India’s 13-year-old golf prodigy Kartik Singh, who finished runner-up in last week’s second edition of the junior event, also played at Seri Selangor. Kartik was given the spot because the winner, Jacob Caijta of the Philippines, is unable to play.
The Malaysian amateur talents include Anson Yeo, Nateeshvar Ganesh, Zia Iqmal Abdul Rashid and 14-year-old Andrew Yap, who all recently competed in the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) returns as title sponsor for the second year running, while the event promoter is PKNS Golf Management Services Sdn Bhd which is a full subsidiary of PKNS.
“I am pleased to see that we have a strong field here this week, including the current ADT Order of Merit leader Deyen Lawson of Australia, and Malaysia’s top golfer Gavin Green. I hope that golf fans will come out to Seri Selangor to watch the top players from the ADT and our local talents battle it out, and cheer their favourites on,” said Dato’ Seri Amirudin Bin Shari, the Chief Minister of Selangor.
“In addition to showcasing the region’s leading golfers on one of our best golf courses, the PKNS Selangor Masters also shines the spotlight on Selangor and the many attractions that we have to offer,” he added.
The Seri Selangor course will play as a par-70, 6,972-yard layout this week, with the par-five 18th once again being converted to a par-four at 477 yards and, for the first time, the par-five fifth hole as well which measures a hefty 514 yards. Crafted by Australian architect Ross Watson, the course opened for play in 1998 as Malaysia’s first genuine public facility and provides an enthralling golf experience with its strategic design, tree-lined fairways and speedy greens.
