Malaysia’s Marcus Lim hung tough on a challenging third day at the 14th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, battling to a five-over-par 76 at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club to stay within the top-10 with one round to go.
Faced with strong winds gusting past 50km/h and tough pin positions, the US-based player gutted out a decent round on a day of high scores at Royal Melbourne’s par-71 Composite Course. He lies tied ninth on five-over-par 218 (72, 70, 76), eight strokes adrift of tournament leader Sampson-Yunhe Zheng of China who shot a stunning 65.
“It was just so mentally tiring out there. Honestly, I didn’t hit that many bad shots, but just a little bounce right or left and you’re playing for bogey. These are probably the toughest conditions I’m ever going to play in, so I’m happy with the way I grinded it out,” said Lim, who is in his senior year at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
Lim will be keen to finish strongly tomorrow, having missed the cut in his previous two Asia-Pacific Amateur appearances.
“I’m kind of still in there and in the top-10, so I’m just going to try and post a good number tomorrow. It’s Royal Melbourne, so anything can happen! If I shoot a low one tomorrow, which I believe I can, we’ll see what happens Just going to keep my head down and commit to every shot,” noted the 21-year-old.
Compatriot Zubair Firdaus also signed in a 76 to lie in tied 28th place on 12-over-par 225 (74, 75, 76), and is on course to better his tied 32nd finish in his maiden appearance at Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand last year.
“Honestly, this was one of the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in, with the winds and firm greens which made it hard to stop the ball. And some of the pin positions were right on top of slopes, so if you wind up above the hole, it’s really difficult,” said Zubair, who is a junior at San Jose State University.
Struggling in the cold and windy morning, Nateeshvar Ganesh and Anson Yeo signed in rounds of 82 and 83 respectively and are tied 64th on 23-over-par 236. Yeo was the best Malaysian in 29th place on debut at Amata Spring last year.
Nateeshvar noted that the conditions were brutal. “The winds were really strong and it was so cold out there. The greens were even tougher today and there were some really difficult pins. I tried my best and gave my all, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said the 18-year-old.
The field of 120 players from the Asia-Pacific region included seven Malaysians. Debutantes Andrew Yap and Zia Iqmal Abdul Rashid had failed to make the 36-hole cut of 12-over-par, while Malcolm Ting withdrew after injuring his back following a fall in his hotel bathroom. Zia caddied for Lim during today’s third round.
The Asia-Pacific Amateur champion will receive an invitation to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and exemptions into The 152nd Open at Royal Troon and the 129th Amateur Championship, provided he retains his amateur status.
Malaysia’s best finish in the championship is seventh, achieved by Ervin Chang in 2018 at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore and by Mohd Iszaimi Ismail in the inaugural 2009 championship at Mission Hills Golf Club in China.
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship was created in February 2009 as a joint initiative to grow the game by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, The Masters Tournament and The R&A. Notable past competitors include 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, a two-time winner of the championship, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith of Australia.
