China’s Shijun Jing and Thailand’s Chutimon Rujiranan topped the boys’ and girls’ individual leaderboards respectively, following the first round of the 3rd Selangor International Junior Golf Championship at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor. The team events meanwhile saw China and Korea take huge leads.
Jing carded a superb three-under-par 69 at the challenging Seri Selangor layout to lead by one shot over compatriots Goulin Zeng and Mingyu Cao, and last year’s runner-up Kartik Singh of India. Malaysia’s Felix Gan lies third after an opening 71.
“This golf course is difficult … the green speeds are so fast and it’s super narrow. My long game, my irons and chipping were good, but I had two three-putts today. I will need to focus on my putting tomorrow,” said Jing, 16.
Representing China (Hainan), Jing (69), Zeng (70), Cao (70) and Ziyao Lyu (77) lead the boys’ team standings with a total of seven-under-par 209, where the best three out of four daily scores are taken into account. The Indian team of Kartik (70), Harman Sachdeva (73), Devin Singh (77) and Pritish Karayat (78) are a distant second on 220, one shot ahead of Team Selangor comprising Rizq Adam Rohizam (73), Ezekiel Riz Hafi Suzearitz (73), Lim Hao Yu (75) and Shaiful Asri (80).
Winner of last week’s Singapore Junior Championship, Singh finished his round with three consecutive birdies to keep pace. “My first 15 holes were not very good, but I managed to birdie the last three holes and sign in a good score today. I won in Singapore last week, so hopefully I can carry that forward and play well in this tournament too,” said the 14-year-old talent, who is the highest ranked player in the field with a World Amateur Golf Ranking of 220.
The boys’ individual champion will earn a start in next week’s PKNS Selangor Masters at Seri Selangor, a professional event co-sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour and the domestic Toyota Tour. Singh was given the spot last year as champion Jacob Cajita of the Philippines was unable to stay on. Cajita opened his title defence with a round of 80.
Girls leader Chutimon Rujiranan of Thailand
Chutimon relied on a strong long game to card an opening one-under-par 71, placing the lanky youngster one stroke ahead of the Korean duo of Byun Jiyool and Malaysia-based Bae Eunkyung, and Malaysian national player Foong Zi Yu.
“It’s a tough course and is pretty challenging for me. My driver was working well today – the course is narrow but if you can find the fairways, you’ll be fine. I still need to work on my putting, but overall I’m happy as it’s better than last year,” said the 17-year-old Chutimon, who finished 12th on 17-over-par in her debut appearance last November.
Bae had a colourful round, mixing four birdies with two bogeys and a double bogey. “This is my first time playing in a tournament at Seri Selangor, but I have practised here three times already. I made a lot of birdies today but had a number of mistakes, so I’m going to have to play better tomorrow,” said the 16-year-old.
Foong meanwhile was happy to open her campaign with an even-par round, despite struggling off the tee. “I definitely could have saved more strokes if my driver and fairway woods were a tad bit more accurate. Overall, I’m quite pleased with the way I came back after starting with a double bogey on Hole 10, when I found the short side of a bunker and lipped out a bogey putt,” said the 18-year-old, who two bronze medals at the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
The girls’ team standings saw the South Korean quartet of Byun (72), Park Hayeon (73), Ko Hana (73) and Song Jia (79) open up a massive lead. Their combined score of two-over-par 218 placed them 11 shots ahead of Team PKNS, comprising Bae (72), Putri Natasha Ameera (75), Vikasni Laakshithaa (82) and Mellvina Nair Presnath (83). Selangor, represented by Foong (72), Aarti Ganesan (79), Nur Batrisya Balqis (79) and Divyasheni Gunasegar (84), are third on 230.
The World Amateur Golf Ranking features a field of 123 players from Australia, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, China, Philippines, Thailand, India, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.
Sponsored by the Selangor State Government, the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship is organised by UUM International School Melaka (UUMISM) in collaboration with the Malaysian Golf Association. PKNS Golf Management Services is the event promoter. Participants are fully hosted during the week for accommodation, green fees, transfers and meals. The official hotel is ibis Styles Damansara.
The championship was preceded by a welcome dinner on Wednesday night at the Seri Selangor ballroom, graced by the presence of Dato’ Haji Haris Bin Kasim, the Secretary of the Selangor State Government who is also the tournament’s Organising Chairman. Players and officials were treated to a superb buffet spread, while being entertained by the Kombo Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) band and the Artis Budaya MBPJ dance troupe.
