Unforgettable experience for Malaysia’s Alya Afza, Wan Danial Hafiz, Ajmal Amin and Nur Diana Syafiqah
Competing in the 15th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô in Vietnam was an unforgettable experience for four young talents from the Malaysian Golf Association’s National Junior Development Programme Elite Team.
Wan Danial Hafiz, Ajmal Amin, Alya Afza and Nur Diana Syafiqah pitted their skills against the cream of junior players from across the region and beyond in the prestigious championship, hosted by English golf legend and six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo in late April.
Ajmal chalked up the best result among the quartet, carding rounds of 79, 75 and 69 for third place in the Boys’ Under-16 category and tied 12th overall. He was just one shot shy of making the playoff between eventual Boys’ Under-16 winner Anson Tam of Hong Kong, China, and Australia’s Jamie Smith.
Malaysian team manager Mohd Fajri Osman noted that the players benefitted tremendously not only from the competitive experience, but also from playing the highly rated par-71 Laguna Golf Lăng Cô course which is a Faldo signature design.
“Competing in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final was a significant experience for the players, as it enabled them to evaluate their skills against top Asian juniors and higher ranked competitors. This type of experiences will contribute to Malaysia’s development of outstanding young golfers,” said Fajri.
The players not only had to contend with one of the most demanding courses in the region, characterised by huge, tricky greens and sprawling waste areas, but also scorching conditions with temperatures soaring as high as 40 degrees.
“The course was set up very long for a junior event and it is an extremely challenging layout, especially the greens which are huge and undulating,” Fajri noted.
Wan Danial placed ninth in the Boys’ Under-21 category and tied 34th overall, while Alya was fifth in the Girls’ Under-21 and tied 36th overall. Both players were coming off lengthy breaks from competitive golf due to the SPM examinations.
Malaysia’s Alya Afza in action
Nur Diana meanwhile finished a commendable equal sixth among the Under-16 girls and tied 18th overall.
Competitors were also given the chance to learn from Faldo himself during exclusive clinics and Q&A sessions, and were feted to five-star treatment throughout the week which included a welcome dinner and prizegiving gala.
“The players were very excited to meet the legend himself, Sir Nick, and the clinics were very useful,” shared Fajri.
The tournament was won by local player Nguyen Duc Son, who pulled off a surprise victory by edging Japan’s Masato Sumiuchi on the second hole of a sudden death playoff. Duc Son is the second Vietnamese to win the championship, following in the footsteps of the nation’s top male amateur Nguyen Anh Minh who triumphed at Laguna Golf Lăng Cô last year.
Ranked outside the top-1000 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) entering the championship, Duc Son was the only player in the field to break par in each of the three rounds with scores of 70, 69 and 69 for a five-under-par 208 total. The victory catapulted him up to 844th spot in the WAGR.
Sumiuchi, who is Japan’s top male amateur with a WAGR ranking of 88, carded rounds of 68, 72 and 68.
Duc Son and the other category winners will be invited to compete in the Faldo Junior Tour Europe Grand Final, which takes place this November at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.
Inaugurated in 1996, the Faldo Series is recognised as the only global amateur series for boys and girls. More than 70 of its alumni are now playing on professional tours, including Major winners Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett and Tseng Ya-ni.
The Faldo Series expanded into Asia in 2006, with Laguna Golf Lăng Cô hosting the Grand Final since 2017 and for the next two years. Nestled between lush inland hills and the East Sea, the Sir Nick Faldo Signature Course forms part of the stunning Laguna Lăng Cô resort which includes bespoke accommodation at the Banyan Tree Lăng Cô Hill Villas, Angsana Lăng Cô Hotel and Laguna Parkside Lăng Cô townhouses.
