Players having fun during the round
It was a day of fun out of the sun (and rain) for the 41 golfers who teed off in the inaugural MST Golf Arena ilovegolf Indoor Golf Tournament at MST Golf Arena, The Gardens Mall, on October 26.
Hailed as Malaysia’s first full-fledged indoor golf tournament, the ground-breaking event was open exclusively to members of MST Golf’s ilovegolf loyalty programme, who were joined by Under Armour ambassador, professional golfer Daeng Abdul Rahman, and Puma ambassador, breakdancer Mohd Faridh Mohd Yasin aka Khenobu.
Each participant received handsome goodies consisting of a two-hour MST Golf Arena voucher, Puma belt, TaylorMade cap, adidas water bottle, OnOff teebox set and one sleeve of Wilson Duo Soft golf balls.
Oblivious to the heavy rain that pounded down outside, the participants teed off in air-conditioned comfort accompanied by catchy music. They were split into groups of three or four per bay as play commenced virtually at 12 noon on Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of numerous world-renowned courses available at MST Golf Arena utilising Foresight Sports’ state-of-the-art GCHawk launch monitors.
Gross champion Nasrullah Zulkifli (L) with MST Golf Arena’s PJ Roux
After around four hours of exciting play, Nasrullah Zulkifli emerged as the gross champion with an excellent score of five-under-par 67, winning a Mizuno JPX Forged Steel Iron Set worth RM5,690. Runner-up spot on one-under-par 71 was claimed by New Fu Yeong, who took home a TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedge worth RM1,100. Gavin Fung carded two-over par 74 to win a full set of adidas gear worth RM1,000.
“This is my first time playing in an indoor tournament and it was good! It’s a lot more enjoyable since I didn’t need to spend time looking for golf balls and getting my distances,” said Nasrullah.
“The luxury of air-conditioning, along with great food and drinks, really enhanced the overall experience. I’ll certainly join future tournaments as I feel it opens up endless possibilities playing against other people with different demographics,” he added.
Grand Lucky Draw winner Gavin Fung (centre) with MST Golf MD KP Low (L) and Cobra Puma Golf’s Rick Chong
Meanwhile, 24-handicapper Yip Yoke Hwa won the nett title and a TaylorMade Stealth driver worth RM3,590 with a score of 15-under par 57. Second place and the prize of Under Armour gear worth RM1,000 went to Richard Low on 14-under par 58, while Daniel Lim grabbed third place on countback with a card for 11-under-par 61 to bag a PXG 0211 putter worth RM999.
Following the completion of the main event, the novelty challenges took place with each bay group nominating one representative for both the Nearest To Pin and Longest Drive contests. The representatives who won received prizes for their entire group.
In the Longest Drive challenge, Bay 6’s Bryan Tan hit an impressive drive of 318 metres to receive travel cases worth RM299 each for his group. Bay 11’s Daniel Lim won the Nearest To Pin challenge after hitting it just two metres away from the pin, earning himself and his bay-mates an Under Armour gift pack worth RM500 each.
Prize Presentation Dinner
Those who did not play well enough to win the main prizes still had good reason to stay back for the early dinner prize-giving, not only to enjoy the great food and camaraderie but also to see if they would take back one of 36 lucky draw prizes on offer. With no aces scored, the two Hole-In-One prizes for the event – a Cobra LTDx Iron Set and a Cobra LTDx Driver worth RM4,299 and RM2,799 respectively – were converted to two grand lucky draw prizes.
Opened for business in January this year, MST Golf Arena at The Gardens Mall is Southeast Asia’s largest indoor golf facility at 40,000 square feet and offers patrons an enticing mix of entertainment, food and retail therapy. The second MST Golf Arena outlet followed in August at Tropicana Gardens Mall in Petaling Jaya.
