Byun Jiyool of South Korea
Korea’s Byun Jiyool and China’s Shijun Jing will head into tomorrow’s final round of the third Selangor International Junior Golf Championship leading the girls’ and boys’ individual events respectively.
In the team events, the South Korean girls’ team and the China (Hainan) boys’ team continue to lead with 18 holes to go at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor.
Byun carded a solid second round 70 for a 36-hole total of two-under-par 142 (72, 70), topping the girls’ leaderboard by three shots from compatriot Ko Hana (73, 72).
“This is a good golf course and is very challenging, and you need to manage your game well. I will be going for the win tomorrow, so I will be trying to make more birdies,” said Byun.
“Overall, my game has been okay. My driver was not working well yesterday, but it was better today, so I’m happy with that,” added the 14-year-old, who birdied two of her last three holes.
Malaysian national player Foong Zi Yu, representing Selangor, lies third on two-over-par 146 (72, 74), one shot ahead of first round leader Chutimon Rujiranan of Thailand (71, 76).
The South Korean quartet of Byun, Ko, Park Hayeon and Song Jia stormed further ahead in the girls’ team standings with a total of 435, based on the best three out of four daily scores. They are a massive 20 shots ahead of Team Selangor, comprising Foong, Nur Batrisya Balqis, Aarti Ganesan and Divyasheni Gunasegar. The PKNS team of Bae Eunkyung, Putri Natasha Ameera, Vikasni Laakshithaa and Mellvina Nair Presnath are in third place on 459.
Representing China (Hainan), Jing continued his fine form by signing in a second successive 69 to lead the boys with a six-under-par 138 total. The 16-year-old is two shots ahead of India’s Kartik Singh, who shot matching 70s in the first two rounds.
“I focused on my putting today and it worked out pretty well. Overall, it was a good round – I only missed one drive and had just one bad chip. I want to play more consistently tomorrow and try to make more birdies,” said Jing, who had a training stint at The Els Club Desaru Coast in Johor last year.
Pre-tournament favourite Kartik, the runner-up in the second edition last November, was pleased to be still in the hunt. “I could have made more putts today, but I’m still happy with how I played. Hopefully I can make more birdies tomorrow and catch up the leader. I’ll play a bit more aggressively but not that much, as I don’t want to mess up,” said the 14-year-old.
Another China (Hainan) player, Goulin Zeng, is in third place on two-under-par 142 (70, 72), two shots ahead of compatriot Mingyu Cao, Shinichi Suzuki of the Philippines and India’s Harman Sachdeva.
The best-placed Malaysians are Rizq Adam Rohizam of Selangor and Muhammad Ajmal Amin of the National Junior Development Programme in joint seventh place on one-over-par 145.
The China (Hainan) team of Jing, Zeng, Cao and Ziyao Lyu lead the boys’ team standings with a total of 424. They are 11 shots ahead of Team India, made up of Kartik, Harman, Devin Singh and Pritish Singh Karayat. The Philippines team of Suzuki, Jacob Cajita (the individual boys’ champion of the second edition), Zeus Sara and Miko Granada lie joint third on 440 with Team Selangor (Rizq, Ezekiel Riz Hafi Suzearitz, Shaiful Asri and Lim Hao Yu).
Play was suspended at 12.40pm due to the threat of lightning and resumed at 2.15pm once the electrical activity had moved a safe distance away.
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. There was a 36-hole cut to the top ten teams in both the girls’ and boys’ categories, with the ten leading players in the individual events also making it through regardless of how their teams performed.
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.
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 Kuala Lumpur Sri Damansara.
