Singapore: Low Khai Jei defied his young age to put on a masterful performance to finish the best placed Malaysian in the field as Hideki Matsuyama of Japan displayed his prowess to retain the Asian Amateur Championship title today.
The 15-year-old Khai Jei revelled in his debut at Asia’s premier amateur event, closing with a fine round of three-under 69 for a respectable four-day total of six-under 282 and a share of 12th placing alongside Shinji Tomimura of Japan.
It was another admirable and confident display from the youngster from Taiping, Perak after claiming the Lion City Cup individual title during the 51st South East Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship in Hong Kong earlier last month. His composed performance, the best amongst the six-strong Malaysian players in action this week at the Singapore Island Country Club, proved a highlight for the national squad on the day when leading amateur Kenneth De Silva ended his campaign on a damper with an error-strewn 76, totalling three-under 285.
Khai Jei rallied early on with three birdies for a flawless first nine before mixing two birdies and two bogeys on the homeward stretch. He admitted to feeling the heat before the round. “I was really nervous in the morning as I was hitting a lot of daft shots at the range, so yes for the first time this week, I think I really felt under pressure. My first nine was a real confidence booster; it gave me the push I needed and I settled down after that.
“I’m very happy with my performance overall and my putting has been strong all week. The course (New Course) was far too long and undulating for me. It was a draining 72 holes but to finish in the top-15 on my first appearance in such a major tournament, it’s great,” he said.
Khai Jei, who will be sitting for his PMR examinations in a few days, shared that it was an eye-opening experience to play amongst some of the region’s leading amateurs. “It did take some time for the realisation to sink in on how big this tournament actually is. There were many coaches and scouts from top universities in the United States as well as representatives from equipment manufacturers in presence, so I must admit that it was quite a pressure packed tournament. I was a bit in awe of the top players but after four rounds here, I’m confident that I have the game to match and even, beat them if I stay composed,” added Khai Jei, who’s initial target was to make the weekend.
The other Malaysian to make the cut was Paul San, who finished his maiden campaign on 10-over 298.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan claimed his second successive Asian Amateur Championship title with a superb final round 67. The 19-year-old student of Tohoku Fukushi University, who won the title in his native Japan last year, hit five birdies in a bogey-free round to finish 18-under par and one shot clear of South Korea’s Lee Soo-min.
Victory means that Matsuyama earns a return to Augusta National next year and a chance to become the first Asian golfer to defend the Silver Cup for best amateur golfer. He will also tee-up in the Asian Tour’s season-ender, the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship Amata Spring Country Club – which coincidentally, will host the fourth edition of the Asian Amateur Championship event next year.
The lanky Japanese was never behind after the first hole but faced competition from Lee, who signed for the lowest score of the week after draining ng nine birdies against a sole bogey to secure a round of 64. Overnight leader Ben Campbell also stayed in touch after recovering from a poor start to shoot 70 and finish in third place at 16-under thanks to late birdies on holes 16 and 17. Matsuyama however, continued to hit fairways and greens and secured a successful title defence with a tap-in par on the 605-yard 18th.
Lee will join Matsuyama at the International Final Qualifying – Asia for The Open Championship next year.
Leading final round scores
270 Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 67-71-65-67
271 Lee Soo-Min (KOR) 65-72-70-64
272 Ben Campbell (NZ) 67-66-69-70
273 Cameron Smith (AUS) 68-69-69-67
276 Masamichi Ito (JPN) 70-70-68-68
277 Jake Higginbottom (AUS) 68-72-72-65
280 Masahiro Kawamura (JPN) 70-75-69-66, Lee Tae Wan (KOR) 72-67-73-68
281 Mathew Perry (NZ) 71-69-72-69, Tze Huang Choo (SIN) 68-72-72-69, Vaughan McCall (NZ) 69-72-67-73
Selected scores
285 Kenneth De Silva (67-69-73-76)
298 Paul San Weng Yau (76-74-73-75)
