The captains – Gavin Green and Danny Chia. Photo by Azmizan Nordin / MYPHOTO2U
Team Gavin powered their way to an emphatic 14-8 victory over Team Danny in the inaugural Albatross Cup at Seri Selangor Golf Club today.
Made up of Malaysia’s leading professionals, the two 12-man teams are captained by the nation’s current and former number one golfers, Gavin Green and Danny Chia, respectively.
Heading into the final day singles with a 6-4 lead from yesterday’s fourball and foursomes matches, Team Gavin needed 5½ points from the 12 matches to secure the win. Despite early morning rain which delayed the start of play by 45 minutes, the spirits of the players were not dampened as they displayed great skill and fiery passion in each match.
The large final victory margin did not truly reflect the closely-fought contest, which came down to the last three matches on the course. The winning point was secured by Casper Loh, who beat Nor Heikal Hadi 3&2 in a battle of budding young talents.
Other prominent matches included rising professional Marcus Lim of Team Gavin against veteran Chia himself, with close to 30 years separating the two players in terms of age. Lim, who is 24, prevailed 2-up but not before a tough fight by the 52-year-old Chia.
Gavin Green and Dato Haris Kasim. Photo by Azmizan Nordin / MYPHOTO2U
“I am really proud of my players and how they stepped up over the last two days. Each and every one of them is a class act. and I am privileged to have them in my team,” said Green, who won his singles match against Ervin Chang 4&3.
“I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time and effort to make this event a success, and of course our sponsors such as Seri Selangor Golf Club, MST Golf, F&N, Go In Full and NPG,” he added.
Chia was magnanimous in defeat, saying: “We did our best today but unfortunately were unable to turn things around. It was a great event, and I would like to congratulate Gavin and his players on a well-deserved victory. I would also like to thank my team for their amazing effort and Seri Selangor for providing us with such a great golf course.”
Both Green and Chia are icons of Asian golf and have set numerous benchmarks over the years. In 2017, Green became the first Malaysian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title, while two-time Asian Tour winner Chia made history in 2010 when he became the first Malaysian to make the cut in a men’s Major at the Open Championship.
