Zubair Firdaus of Malaysia plays a tee shot from the 10th tee during a practice round ahead of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played at the Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand. Photo: AAC
Zubair Firdaus and Anson Yeo carded opening rounds of one-under-par 71 to lead the Malaysian challenge in the 13th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) at Amata Spring Country Club.
The two Malaysians are in joint 25th place, six shots behind tournament leader Bo Jin of China who shot a superb 65.
Starting on the 10th tee, Zubair mustered a strong finish in his first-ever AAC round. The 20-year-old was two-over-par with four holes to go and showed great character to nail three birdies on the closing stretch.
“I just told myself to play one shot at a time and keep believing in myself. I had a few putts that dropped over the closing holes and hopefully I can keep going this week with the same momentum,” he said.
“At Hole 6, I hit a sand wedge to six feet and made that putt, and at the par-five seventh I hit a solid drive and then a 4-iron from 240 yards to 30 feet of the pin, and two-putted for birdie. At the ninth, I hit another good drive and wedged it to 10 feet and made that as well,” elaborated Zubair, who is a sophomore at San Jose State University in California.
Zubair, who was born in Malaysia but moved to Dubai when he was six, is enjoying the experience of playing in the prestigious championship.
“This tournament is special because you get to play against the best players from all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Everyone here is a really good golfer, so you can really test how good you are. Competition only makes you better,” he noted.
Yeo meanwhile was two-under-par playing the par-four 16th when a stroke of misfortune hit. His drive took a bad bounce off the buggy track on the right and wound up behind a tree, from where the 16-year-old took two shots to get back on the fairway. Yeo failed to find the green with his fourth shot but got up and down for a double bogey six.
Also making his debut in the prestigious championship, Yeo did well to maintain his composure and birdie the par-three 17th. He hit a 9-iron from 123 meters to 20 feet of the pin on the island green and nailed a left-to-right breaker.
“Overall, my game was good today and I’m happy with the result. I was hitting the ball well and my putting was good too, except on the second hole where I three-putted,” said Yeo.
“It was quite windy today and you really need to take that into account. I have an early morning tee time tomorrow, so hopefully the wind will not be as strong,” added the golfer from Kuching, Sarawak.
Yeo, who has the benefit of being part of the AAC Academy clinic at Amata Spring in early September, has set himself a lofty target.
“I hope to finish in the top-10 this week. It’s been a great experience so far playing with all the top players from the region,” he said.
Isaac To of Malaysia plays a tee shot from the 10th tee during a practice round ahead of the 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship being played at the Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand. Photo: AAC
Isaac To is the next best-placed Malaysian in T41 spot after signing in an even-par 72. Also making his first AAC appearance, the 18-year-old racked up five birdies against three bogeys and a double bogey, which came at the 17th when he misjudged the wind and found water with his tee shot.
“I feel like I drove the ball well today, picked the spots where I wanted to hit to and executed it pretty good. On the last few holes, I left a few makeable birdie putts short, but besides that – and of course the double bogey at 17 – I’m quite happy with my round,” said To, who is in his freshman year at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States.
“This is the biggest tournament that I’ve played, so I’m just taking it all in and enjoying the experience. I like the hospitality, the food, the hotel, the golf course, everything is very well organised,” he added.
Khavish Varadan and Marcus Lim, both making their second AAC appearances, signed in one-over-par 73s and are in T50 place.
Hariz Hezri, another AAC debutante, was going well until he dropped four shots in his last two holes which included a triple bogey at his last hole, the par-four ninth, where his drive found the water on the left. He settled for a round of 76 and is in T80 place.
Nateeshvar Ganesh, who was also in the Malaysian squad at last year’s AAC in Dubai, shot 77 and lies in T88 place.
The AAC was created in 2009 as a joint initiative to develop the game by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and The R&A. The champion receives an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament and The Open, while the runner(s)-up gain a place in The Open Qualifying Series for The Open.
Malaysia’s best result in the AAC is seventh, achieved by Mohd Iszaimi Ismail during the inaugural event in 2009 at Mission Hills Golf Club in China and matched by Ervin Chang in 2018 at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
While no Malaysian has played in the Masters Tournament, two have competed in The Open – Danny Chia (2005, 2008, 2010) and Gavin Green (2018).
For more information about the AAC, please visit AACgolf.com.
