Fortuner Cup winners – Mirabel Ting, Ben Leong and Hayden Hah
Ben Leong staved off a determined challenge by Edven Ying and Daeng Rahman to bag his first victory on the Toyota Tour, carding a bogey-free five-under 65 to win by four strokes at the Kelab Golf Sibu.
Miri-born amateur Mirabel Ting coasted to an easy 11-stroke victory over Geraldine Wong in the Ladies Championship, shooting a five-under 65 for a three-day 205 aggregate to win a Toyota Tour event in her maiden outing. Michelle Koh was third on 220.
Leong who hails from Kota Kinabalu, started the day three ahead of Ying, Daeng and Khor Kheng Hwai. He announced his intentions with birdies on holes one, two and seven but saw his lead whittled to two strokes after Ying, who made the turn in four-under, birdied 10 and 12. However, bogeys on 16 and 18 stopped his advancement.
Daeng, the 2023 Alphard Cup winner at Forest City, birdied two and eagled six. He added two more birdies on 14 and 15 but missed a short putt on 18 which would have earned him solo second.
“Yes, I’m happy to have finally won on the Toyota Tour. Edven is a wonderful talent. I expect him to grow from this and make a big impact on the local professional scene,” said Leong who will return to the Asian Tour at the end of August with stops in Indonesia, Taiwan and China.
Ying was all smiles after signing his scorecard. “I gave it my best shot. I’m happy with my performance and I can’t wait for the Hilux Cup in Kota Kinabalu (July 16-18),” said the 22-year-old who hails from Kuantan. He created a name for himself when he won the Vios Cup at Templer Park CC last year.
Men’s Best Amateur honours went to Hayden Hah who finished at five-over 215 and was placed joint 34th overall. Shaifubari Muda, Hui Yong Sherng, Kenneth De Silva and Leong recorded the lowest scores of five-under today.
Mirabel will travel to Ireland this weekend to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup which is an annual mixed event comprising USA’s best college players against the best college players from the rest of the world. The Ryder Cup-style event will take place at the Lahinch Golf Club in Lahinch, Ireland. This will be the second time she is representing the Rest of the World.
Mirabel returns to Florida in August to continue her studies but she’s not certain of participating in the Hilux Cup next month.
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts representative Joshua Ting, who helped give away the trophies, remarked on the reception shown by Kelab Golf Sibu and was appreciative of the players who came all the way to this Sarawakian town for the Fortuner Cup.
“The Toyota Tour should be commended for their efforts in the development not just of professionals but junior golf as well. I would like to see more such events coming to Sibu and hopefully there will be international participation,” said Ting, reading a speech prepared for Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, the Tourism Minister.
Final scores (men)
194 Ben Leong (63-66-65)
198 Daeng Rahman (63-69-66), Edven Ying (64-68-66)
199 Khor Kheng Hwai (67-65-67)
202 Malcolm Ting (70-65-67)
203 Paul San (68-69-66), Amir Nazrin (68-68-67), Shahriffuddin Ariffin (65-70-68)
204 Marcus Lim (67-67-70), Wilson Choo (68-66-70)
Ladies
205 Mirabel Ting (am) 72-68-65
216 Geraldine Wong (71-72-73)
220 Michelle Koh (73-76-71)
