Kuala Lumpur: Following in the footsteps of their professional compatriots, Singapore’s amateurs Jerome Ng and Marc Ong stuck to their game plans to lift the Etiqa ASEAN Cup at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club today.
Just days after Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing combined superbly to qualify for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup at Seri Selangor Golf Club, the much younger pairing of Ng and Ong carded a final round best of three-over 75 at the West Course for a four-day total of 290 to beat defending champions Myanmar by four strokes.
Starting the final round three shots behind the overnight leaders, the Myanmar pair of Myo Win Aung and Maung Maung Oo got off to a great start with a string of birdies and an eagle to overhaul the Lions’ but twice found water on the 15th to allow Singapore to regain their lead and take the title comfortably. Myanmar finished on 76 for a 294 total.
“It’s been worthwhile for us and it’s always nice to play in a different format and winning. We had a relatively stress-free week here and we didn’t put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We strive on playing competitive golf and despite the fact that we don’t play this format (fourball and foursomes) often, the strong camaraderie within our team helped us to do well,” said the 21-year-old Jerome, who won the Negeri Sembilan Amateur Open in May and finished second in the 64th Singapore Amateur Open last week.
His partner Marc concurred citing a safety first approach as contributing factor to their victory. “We played well and knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses definitely helped. It was vital for us not to get each other into much trouble during the alternate shot rounds and we did just that,” shared Marc.
Malaysia, represented by Etiqa Malaysia Cup champions Kenneth Christian de Silva and Tan Wei Chean finished nine strokes behind the winners in third. Despite firing two birdies, the duo dropped eight strokes for a round of six-over-par 78 and a tournament total of 299.
“We played aggressively, attacking the pins where possible, especially on the first nine. But when the Singaporeans took the lead yesterday, the title was effectively theirs to lose,” said Wei Chean.
ASEAN Golf Federation secretary general Datuk Zain Mohd Yusof expressed his hope that the future editions of the events will be fully subscribed by all 10 ASEAN nations. “This tournament is about giving the young golfing talents in the a platform to hone their games against their ASEAN counterparts. I appeal to the other member nations to send their teams for next year’s event,” he said during the prize presentation.
Final round scores
290 Singapore (69-77-69-75)
294 Myanmar (68-78-72-76)
299 Malaysia (73-79-69-78)
303 Thailand (71-78-72-82)
307 Philippines (79-79-70-79)
324 Cambodia (74-85-73-92)