Kajang, Selangor; June 16: The two-day Senior Golfers’ Society of Malaysia’s (SGSM) Annual Championship 2011 came to an end today with Ir. Mohd Kamal Azmey Awang Hitam emerging the gross champion to deny two-time reigning champion Datuk Khamis Abdul Samah a third consecutive crown.
A total of 108 participants, including a strong group of veterans from across the South China Sea, made their presence felt at the Kajang Hill Golf Club, where good weather and great camaraderie ensured that the annual meet went on in good spirits.
Overnight leader Azmey (7) from Kelab Golf Negara Subang added a round of 75 today for a 36-hole total of 149 to lift the Diamond Jubilee challenge trophy ahead of Hooi You Man (8), who could only manage a 76 today to finish one shot adrift in second. Khamis (8) was third despite a final round 74, on 151.
In the nett division, Pietro Paolo Martucci prevailled on countback to snatch the Golden Jubilee challenge trophy ahead of Dato A. Sani Karim after the duo had both finished with a 131 total. The Italian, who is residing in Malaysia now, benefitted from a final round of 62 today against Sani’s 67. Mohd Ramlee Haji Mohamed was third on 134 (68-66).
A close contest was also seen in the Super Seniors (above 65 years) category with little separating First Admiral (R) Marzuki Andong (69-63) and Ng Ah Chong (67-65), who finished level on 132. Marzuki received the Tan Sri Ir Shamsuddin Kadir cup ahead of Ng on countback. Liew Nar edged ahead of his rivals to finish third on 135 (72-63).
In the inter-state competition (pic above), Selangor emerged the gross champions on 457 while Kuala Lumpur took the nett honours on 407.
In his welcome address read out by his deputy Dato’ Khalid Hj Ismail, SGSM president Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Sallehuddin Mohamed lauded the members for making the annual event a success.
“When the registration closed, we only had over 80 confirmed participants but the number increased over the short period of time before the tournament. A big word of thank you goes out to our members, especially those from Sabah and Sarawak, who took the trouble to fly down to Kuala Lumpur for the tournament as well as attend the society’s annual general meeting,” he said.
He also urged seniors to pay more attention to rules and etiquette on the course to ensure that no misunderstanding and altercations ensued and to maintain the society’s integrity.