Kuala Lumpur: After twice succesfully hosting the stars of the LPGA, the East Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club is set to play host to some of the region’s top lady amateurs during the 29th edition of the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open (MLAO) from May 29-31.
The annual championship is once again expected to assemble a strong regional field with the pressure firmly on the locals, who made a clean sweep of the titles on offer last year. The announcement of the dates and venue was made by Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (MALGA) president HH Tunku Puan Sri Dato Seri Jawahir Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar during a press conference at the club earlier today.
In her address, Tunku Puteri shared that the association was delighted with the opportunity to host the prestigious championship at one of Malaysia’s top golf developments.
“After three consecutive editions at The Mines Resort & Golf Club, MALGA is pleased that Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club have graciously extended their East Course, which incidentally is the venue of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, to host the nation’s top lady amateur event. The championship will not only give lady golfers from around the country as well as the region to test their skills against the challenging layout of a LPGA-standard golf course but also act as a good training ground for our elite players ahead of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia qualifier and tournament proper later this year,” she said.
“Last year we had 103 golfers from eleven countries competing including Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, South Africa, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Korea, Norway, Thailand and Indonesia. We are expecting all these countries compete again and we might have more countries this year with the growing popularity of our championship,” added Tunku Puan Sri Dato’ Seri Jawahir.
Bermaz Motors Sdn Bhd, the franchise holder for the Mazda brand in Malaysia, will return as the main sponsor alongside Apple Vacations, Shiseido, Gatorade, the Ministry of Youth & Sports as well as the Ministry of Tourism.
On a positive note, Tunku Puan Sri Dato’ Seri Jawahir also stressed that MALGA enjoyed a close working relationship with the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) under the stewardship of Admiral (R) Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor. “We are happy that MGA now recognise our efforts in developing ladies golf and we working well together to bring ladies and junior golf to greater heights,” she shared.
In the 2011 edition, top-ranked amateur Kelly Tan claimed the individual title after a solid six-stroke victory over fellow national Nur Durriyah Damian. Kelly had earlier captained the Malaysia A team comprising of past winners Michelle Koh, Diana Tham and herself to the team championship.
The entry fee has been set at RM750 (MALGA members) while foreign participants will be charged US$300 for the three-day affair.
