Marcus Lim Pang Chuen swept to an emphatic overall victory in the 13th Faldo Series Malaysia Championship, staged on February 18-20 at Impian Golf & Country Club.
Level with Grace Chin Jun-li at the top of the leaderboard going into the final round, Lim cantered clear of the field with a faultless final round of three-under-par 69.
That gave him a three-day aggregate of one-under 215 and enabled the national squad member to finish six strokes in front of Rizq Adam Rohizam and Foong Zi Yu in the 17th and penultimate event of the 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season.
As well as earning himself a spot in the 14th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, the triumph should see Lim break into the top 1,000 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) for the first time.
Winner of the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Open and the Perak Amateur Open last year, UCSI International School student Lim started the week in 1,014th position in the WAGR, seventh among Malaysian males.
Rohizam (Boys’ Under-16 winner) and Foong (Girls’ Under-16 winner) also qualified for the Grand Final, to be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at Vietnam’s Laguna Lăng Cô. Also flying the flag for Malaysia at the annual showpiece will be Ryan Fernandez (Boys’ Under-21 winner) and Ashley Goh (Girls’ Under-21 winner).
Foong had to hold off a spirited challenge from second-round co-leader Chin, a fellow national team representative, to secure her place on the flight to Vietnam.
One shot behind Chin after 36 holes, Foong edged into a one-stroke lead with just two holes remaining. Both girls made birdies at the par-five 17th before Chin drew level thanks to another birdie at 18. However, it was Foong, round in 74 to Chin’s 75, who claimed first place among the Girls’ Under-16s on a countback.
The Grand Final was originally due to take place at the award-winning Faldo Design course from March 4-6. A fortnight ago, however, officials postponed the Grand Final due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
A Faldo Series spokesperson said: “This decision was made to ensure all our finalists are able to participate in the 2020 Asia Grand Final. We are currently working on securing new dates for the tournament in November, which will be confirmed in the coming weeks.”
The 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season is supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation. The International Junior Golf Academy is a partner of the Faldo Series.
As well as a series of qualifiers in Thailand, the FSA schedule includes two events in China and championships in Australia, Bangladesh, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
The Faldo Series was established in 1996, expanding to Asia in 2006. Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide. Past champions include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners, as well as recent LPGA Tour winners include Thidapa Suwannapura (2010 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) and Nasa Hataoka (2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion).
Faldo Series Malaysia Championship, leading final scores: Boys’ Under-21: 222 – Ryan Fernandez (78-70-74). 225 – Sheikh Abdul Rawof (78-77-70). 229 – Muhammad Azren Noor Azam (76-79-74); Zia Iqmal Bin Abdul Rashid (83-74-72). 231 – Eldrick Chong Ming Loong (81-74-76). Boys’ Under-18: 215 – Marcus Lim Pang Chuen (72-74-69). 226 – Nor Heikal Nor Hadi (78-74-74). 227 – Benjamin Ethan Ngelingkong (76-72-79); Aqil Afiq Rosli (77-78-72). 229 – Ying Hock Hong (77-77-75). Boys’ Under-16: 221 – Rizq Adam Rohizam (74-78-69). 223 – Nateeshvar Anatha Ganesh (71-76-76). 230 – Feirish Nor Feizal Nor (76-75-79). 234 – Ryan Lee Wei Jian (75-82-77); Anson Yeo Boon Xiang (84-76-74). Girls’ Under-21: 228 – Ashley Goh (79-74-75). 233 – Charlayne Chong Shin Ling (80-76-77). 234 – Tammy Pan Jia Yee (80-75-79). 239 – Farah Adylah Yeoh (79-81-79). Girls’ Under-16: 221 – Foong Zi Yu (72-75-74); Grace Chin Jun Li (73-73-75). 228 – Angel Hii (79-76-73). 231 – Cheryl Hong Wei Xin (78-76-77).
