Kuala Lumpur; June 6: In keeping with their continued effort to develop junior golf in Malaysia, Royal Sporting House (RSH) have joined forces with SportExcel to organise the two-day Mizuno Junior Open, which began today at the Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort.

Some 120 junior golfers took full advantage of the school break to participate in the inaugural tournament, which is set to be annual affair as part of RSH’s long-term plan to produce local champions in the mould of established professionals such as Luke Donald.

RSH Malaysia general manager – golf David Leow was excited with the multi-brand retailers’ maiden effort to provide a platform for junior golfers to showcase their abilities.

“Along the line, we felt that the time was right for us to expand our involvement in junior golf from the classroom environment of the GolfHouse Academy and the Mizuno Golf School to the competitive platform of the Mizuno Junior Open through a strategic partnership with SportExcel, which is reputed as the playing field of Malaysia’s elite junior golfers.”

RSH is also hoping to make a difference with the tournament and Leow is leaving no stones unturned in adding a wow-factor to  the tournament. “RSH wanted to make a difference with how the junior tournament should be conducted.

“For the first time, the top five finishers in the boys’ and girls’ under-20 the winners of a junior tournament will be invited to participate at a higher level ie. the Mizuno Dream Cup qualifiers later this year at this same venue, where they will be in the running to represent Malaysia at the Asia grand final in Japan.

“Each of the  registered 120 participants will also receive a goodie bag with a Mizuno golf cap, a Mizuno Bio-Gear Techno Touch Mock and a Mizuno belt worth over RM400, ensuring that every junior goes home feeling like a champion,” added Leow. RSH have also commissioned a replica Mizuno Tour truck inflatable (pic), to bring a professional event feel to this junior tournament.

The first round today saw Gavin Kyle Green card a six-under-par 66 to lead the boys’ under-20 category, followed by Khavish Varman Varadan who leads the boys’ under-12 division with a score of 68. American-based Sharon Lau is tied with Kedahan Nur Musfirah Ihlam Armalis on 75 in a tightly contested girls’ under-20 division.

Leading first round scores

Boys’ Under-20
1st Gavin Kyle Green 66
2nd Kenneth De Silva 72
3rd Chan Tuck Soon   73
4th Lim Wei Jim       74
5th Mohd Aiman Mohd Nor 75

Girls’ Under-20
1st Sharon Lau May Yen 75
2nd Nur Musfirah Ilham Armalis 75
3rd Asha Lakshme Balakrishnan 78
4th Lim Ai Lynn 81
5th Pang Sue May 81

Boys’ Under-15
1st Amir Nazrin Jailani 78
2nd Paul San 78
3rd Sim You Wei 79
4th Park Jong Min 79
5th Aaron Cheong 79

Girls’ Under-15
1st Chong Yong 80
2nd Nurul Najihah Muhd Sakaff 81
3rd Lee Na Ra 85
4th Celine Lium Shwu Ling 88
5th Chong Yee Mun 89

Boys’ Under-12
1st Khavish Varman Varadan 68
2nd Ryan Wong 72
3rd Aaerishna Shahsthy 74
4th Daeng Abdul Rahman Abd Aziz 75
5th Elijah Jethro Chitty 81

Girls’ Under-12
1st Kim Sol Lip 83
2nd Farhatul Munirah 85
3rd Amalia Sahzan 92
4th Samantha Chong Hui Wen 92
5th Qistina Balqis Azhar 93

Mixed Under-9
1st Marcus Lim Pang Chuen 43
2nd Tiu Darren 45
3rd Feirish Nor Feizal Nor 46
4th Tg Muzaffar Tg Masly 46
5th Pan Cal Vin 47