Anson Yeo of Malaysia. Photo: AAC
Isaac To, Anson Yeo and Zubair Firdaus ensured that the Jalur Gemilang will continue to fly during the weekend of the 13th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) by making the halfway cut at Amata Spring Country Club. All three Malaysians are making their debuts in the prestigious championship.
Leading the Malaysian challenge is the 18-year-old To, who nailed five birdies against two bogeys for a superb three-under-par 69. He climbed up into T24 spot on three-under-par 141 (72, 69), seven shots behind tournament leader Bo Jin of China. Thai prodigy Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat is in joint second place on nine-under-par with South Korea’s Wooyoung Cho.
“I feel great! It’s a real honour to make it to the weekend in my first AAC, playing against the Asia-Pacific’s best players,” said To, a freshman at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States.
“I didn’t start great, but I’m proud of the way I managed to recover. My ball-striking wasn’t that good, so I had to grind out a lot of up-and-downs and make some clutch par putts. On the second nine, I managed to sink a number of long birdie putts.”
To noted that he will just focus on taking it one shot at a time over the final 36 holes. “I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing, just pick my target and hit to it, and not think too much.”
Yeo, who is currently the country’s top men’s amateur at No. 178 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), carded a second successive 71 and is in T33 spot on two-under-par. He was five-under-par for the tournament after 10 holes, but had to endure a nervy last eight holes which included three bogeys, a double bogey and an eagle.
“I’m very disappointed with my back nine as my game is actually in good shape, just made a few mistakes here and there. I’ll be more aggressive over the weekend and hopefully make some putts and move up the leaderboard,” said the 16-year-old from Kuching, Sarawak.
Zubair meanwhile showed great resolve when he made a clutch birdie on his final hole to make the cut of even-par on the number. He had made double bogey on the 17th when his tee shot found water to the left of Amata Spring’s signature island green.
Zubair Firdaus of Malaysia. Photo: AAC
“I played well overall today, just had two bad holes – made a double on 15 and a double on 17, so that’s already four shots,” said Zubair, a sophomore at San Jose State University in California.
“I know I’m capable of much lower scores and I have two more chances to do that. I’m happy to play the weekend as it’s my first time in the AAC,” added the 20-year-old.
Hariz Hezri (76, 72), Marcus Lim (73, 75) and Nateeshvar Ganesh (77, 72) failed to make the halfway cut, while Khavish Varadan was forced to withdraw after nine holes when he aggravated a chronic neck injury. Khavish was two-over-par for the tournament at that point.
“It’s called C8 radiculopathy, so the nerve is damaged. It’s on and off – some days I’m good, some days it comes up. The doctor had advised me to rest but I really wanted to play in this event and then be done for the year, but unfortunately that was not the case. I’m very disappointed,” explained Khavish.
“I’m going to have to go through therapy for a month and see how it goes. Luckily our next college event is in February, so I’ve got a while to rest and recover,” added the 22-year-old, who is in his junior year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Khavish, Lim and Nateeshvar were making their second successive appearances in the AAC, having played in the 12th edition at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club last year. Khavish was the only one who made the cut then, finishing T18 on five-under-par.
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.
