Fakhrul Akmal completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Harrier Cup when he won the seventh leg of the Toyota Tour with a three-day aggregate of 16-under 200, defeating his nearest rival Lee Chong Li by a massive 9-stroke margin at the Kelab Golf DiRaja Pahang.
Fakhrul, who started the day three strokes ahead of Kim Leun Kwang, opened up with a nervy bogey on the reachable par 5 first hole, while Kim and flight mate Brandon Li two putted for birdie. However Fakhrul responded gallantly adding birdies on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 10th holes to run away from the field. He held a 10-stroke advantage at one time.
“I’m quite speechless,” said the 28-year-old. “I’ve come so close on many occasions, and I keep wondering if I will ever win as a professional. And to achieve it here is priceless, this being my first time playing at KGDP and the crowd support here has been fantastic. They made me feel at home.”
Fakhrul, who pocketed the first prize of RM31,500, thinks this breakthrough win will boost his confidence going forward. “Even though I started with a three-shot lead I did not think of margins during my round. I was just targeting to go to 20-under and thought that that score might be enough to win.”
Zulaikah Nasser enmerged ladies champion
Meanwhile, Zulaikah Nasser fresh from winning the Toyota Tour Qualifying School in Kota Seriemas two weeks ago, once again underlined her potential by winning the Ladies Championship. Despite an unsettling double bogey on the par 4 third hole, the 22-year-old responded brilliantly with birdies on the 6th, 7th, 10th and 16th holes and a bogey on the 17th to finish with a one-under 71 and a three-day aggregate of 213.
Zulaikah finished six strokes ahead of Geraldine Wong who carded her third 73 in the tournament. Michelle Koh, who hails from Kuantan and had her father on her bag, ended up third on 222.
“It’s surreal, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Zulaikah on her way to submitting her scorecard. “I’ve proven to myself that I deserve to be here on tour and that being a professional golfer is the right career for me.”
The 22-year-old turned pro exactly a month ago after graduating in mass communication in the US. Zulaikah hasn’t thought about qualifying for other tours in the region yet, and will continue to work towards competing in the Alphard Cup in Penang next month and the Yaris Cup at The Mines in November.
Izzat Syamin won the Best Men’s Amateur title when he finished with a three-day aggregate of even par 216 which placed him at joint 17th. He has registered to become a professional and is looking forward to competing at the Alphard Cup in Penang Golf Resort next month, the 8th leg of the Toyota Tour organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia and delivered by MST Golf.
The Ladies Amateur title went to Wang Xin Yao who finished with a three-day aggregate of 9-under 225. Wang, who turned 16 in May, hails from Cheras and is a member of the Toyota Tour Junior Elite Programme. She has been offered a golf scholarship with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and will be heading there next year. She’s keen on pursuing a degree in nutrition.
Lee Chong Li was runner-up
Leading Final scores
200 Fakhrul Akmal 66-66-68
209 Lee Chong Li 70-71-68
210 Zurie Harun 70-72-68, Edven Ying 72-69-69, Ben Leong 69-69-72, Kim Leun Kwang 67-68-75
211 Casper Loh 74-69-68, Daeng Rahman 69-72-70, Brandon Lai 69-69-73
212 Ruhanraj Vinayagam 72-73-67, Zia Izzuddeen 69-73-70, Kemarol Baharin 71-70-71
Ladies Championship
213 Zulaikah Nasser 73-69-71
219 Geraldine Wong 73-73-73
222 Michele Koh 75-73-74
225 Wang Xin Yao (am) 73-78-74
229 Amalia Shahzan 76-76-77
