123 junior talents from 12 countries will battle for team and individual glory in this week’s highly anticipated third edition of the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship, which starts on Thursday at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor.
For the first time, the World Amateur Golf Ranking event will feature players from Australia, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates, who will join their peers from South Korea, China, Philippines, Thailand, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, and Malaysia.
Players aged between 12 and 18 will compete over 54 holes in separate boys’ and girls’ divisions, with each featuring individual and team events. Once again, the boys’ individual champion will earn a priceless opportunity to compete in the Asian Development Tour’s PKNS Selangor Masters, a professional event which takes place the following week at the same venue.
Sponsored by the Selangor State Government, the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship is organised by UUM International School Melaka (UUMISM) in collaboration with the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA). PKNS Golf Management Services is the event promoter and also manages Kelab Golf Seri Selangor.
Participants are fully hosted during the week for accommodation, green fees, transfers and meals. The official hotel is ibis Styles Damansara,.
Dato’ Haji Haris Bin Kasim, the Secretary of the Selangor State Government, was elated at the championship’s amazing growth in a relatively short span of time.
“It is indeed gratifying to see how the Selangor International Junior Golf Championship has grown since the inaugural edition in early 2023. This week’s third championship will see a record field of 123 talented juniors from a dozen nations do battle, and I am sure we will be in for some exciting action at Seri Selangor,” said Dato’ Haji Haris.
“The individual boys’ champion will once again earn a start in next week’s PKNS Selangor Masters, which will provide a truly valuable learning experience as he will be competing against professional golfers in an Asian Development Tour event,” he added.
Making a return this year are the two main protagonists in last year’s individual boys’ competition, defending champion Jacob Cajita of the Philippines and Indian prodigy Kartik Singh. With a 54-hole total of four-under-par 212, Cajita edged Singh by one shot to bag the title and was also part of the victorious Philippines side in the boys’ team event.
As Cajita was unable to stay on due to school commitments, the spot in the PKNS Selangor Masters was given to Singh, who missed the cut despite a valiant effort. Currently in 241st position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), the 14-year-old Singh is the highest ranked player in the field and has been in fine form recently, winning last week’s Singapore Junior Championship at Keppel Club.
With a WAGR ranking of 363, China’s Shijun Jing is another player to watch out for. In April, he won the overall title in the inaugural Optimas JAGA International Series Championship in the United Arab Emirates with a 15-under-par total, three shots ahead of Singh.
Taking part for the first time are two members of the United Arab Emirates team that won the boys’ team gold medal in the Gulf Youth Games at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in late April – the highly-rated Rayan Ahmed, who also won the individual gold, and Mohammad Skaik.
Other leading players among the boys are Shinichi Suzuki of the Philippines, who was part of the winning boys’ team and placed fourth in the individual event last year, and Australia’s Josiah Edwards, who placed third in last year’s Saujana Amateur Championship.
The top ranked Malaysian in the boys’ event is SportExcel’s Andrew Yap Yung Cheng, with a WAGR ranking of 346. The 15-year-old recently finished second in the RPGC Fructose Junior Championship at Royal Perak Golf Club.
The highest-ranked player among the girls is India’s Nishna Hemesh Patel at 653rd spot in the WAGR. She made headlines early this year by winning a local professional event, the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour Leg 1 at Poona Golf Club.
Other girls ranked within the top 1,000 of the WAGR are Thailand’s Jiranan Lim (WAGR 913), who was part of the Thai team that finished second in the last championship, China’s Yingyuan Liu (WAGR 994), and the Malaysian duo of Nik Alicia Miriam Kamil Binti Fairuz (WAGR 787) and Foong Zi Yu (WAGR 824). Foong took part in the inaugural championship in January 2023, finishing second in the individual and team events.
While defending girls’ individual champion Jung Min Seo of South Korea is not competing this year, there is a strong Korean representation with four boys and four girls in the mix.
Among them are two boys with +3.3 handicaps, Lee Haneul and Jang Wonyeong, and a girl who plays off a +2.2 handicap, Song Jia.
“This year we have players from Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh for the first time. With the continued support of the Selangor State Government and other sponsors, we hope to make this Selangor International Junior Golf Championship one of the top premier junior events in this region. We may extend invitations to countries outside the Asia-Pacific region in the future,” said UUMISM founder and director David Jeong.
Kelab Golf Seri Selangor was established in 1998 by the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) as Malaysia’s first bona fide public golf facility Crafted by Australian architect Ross Watson, the par-72 layout is one of the most popular courses in the country and features tree-lined fairways, deep bunkers, numerous water hazards and fast, tricky greens.
“The Seri Selangor course is in great condition and has fast green speeds. Certain holes can be challenging for the juniors and will require some good course management, so it will be an exciting week of golf,” noted Jeong.
