Kuala Lumpur: Ervin Chang underlined his future potential by emerging tops in the boys division of the inaugural Malaysian Junior Closed presented by Mizuno and GolfHouse on Thursday as Nur Durriyah Damian held on for a wire-to-wire victory in the girls’ division.

Chang overcame a late slip up to close with a solid two-under 74 at Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam for a three-day total of six-over 224, two shots ahead of joint overnight leader Kuhanesh Ganesan of Johor (76). Home favourite and KGPA prodigee Ranjeesh Sathuraman finished third on 226 after a closing 78.

“I can’t describe how excited I am to claim the maiden Malaysian Junior Closed championship. It’s definitely a confident boosting victory for me ahead of my first appearance for Selangor at the Malaysian Games (SUKMA) next month,” exclaimed Chang.

“I started my campaign here well with a good two-under 70. My body and mind was relaxed and I stayed focus and played each hole as it came, which saw me register my personal best here,” added the boys’ under-14 champion, before acknowledging that poor scoring conditions on the second day saw him card an unexpected 78.

The 14-year-old national back-up, who started level on four-over par alongside Kuhanesh and Ranjeesh, however recovered well with with two early birdies today but four bogeys including two dropped shots on the finishing stretch left the youngster in doubt of claiming the victory.

“I played well today after a positive start but I began to tire towards the end. I was struggling with cramps and it affected my concentration but luckily I managed to keep my game in rein to avoid losing too much,” explained Chang, who accepted that he still needs to work on his mental game and his stamina.

Despite a final round of five-over 77, national player Durriyah eased to a massive ten-stroke victory with a 223 overall to nonetheless  over runner-up Sarfina Vinota Seretharan (78). Genevieve Ling I-Rynn was third on 19-over 235.

Nonetheless, the 16-year-old from Kuala Lumpur was not pleased with her overall performance despite the victory. “I can’t say I’m too happy with the way I played here as my score got worst day-on-day. My putting was poor this week as I missed many makeable birdie putts but in the end, a victory is a victory and I’m quite pleased to bounce back after last week’s display,” shared Durriyah, who finished tied 29th at the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open.

“I was fortunate that I posted a strong opening round which gave me enough room to breathe and I was lucky that my fellow competitors didn’t mount a strong challenge,” added the girls’ under-18 winner.

Other notable winners in the age-group categories include Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari (girls’ under-14), Sarfina (girls’ under-16), Paul San (boys’ under-16) as well as Kuhanesh (boys’ under-18).

Leading final round scores (boys)

222 – Ervin Chang (70-78-74)
224 – Kuhanesh Ganesan (73-75-76)
226 – Ranjeesh Sathuraman (76-72-78)
227 – Paul San Weng Yau (75-79-73)
232 – Amir Nazrin Jailani (76-81-75)
234 – Albright Chong (77-79-78), Aizat Nazhief (73-80-81)
236 – Muhammad Afzal Mohd Zubir (79-82-75)
237 – Mohd Asyraf Hj Rosli (79-84-74), Sazanur Iman Salenin (82-79-76), Kenneth Lui (81-76-80), Fazdly Ahmad Chua (79-74-84), Bryan Teoh Wiyang (75-77-85)

Leading final round scores (girls)
223 – Nur Durriyah Damian (70-76-77)
233 – Sarfina Vinota Seretharan (78-77-78)
235 – Genevieve Ling I-Rynn (80-76-79)
242 – Asha Lakshme (78-82-82)
243 – Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari (80-83-80)
248 – Celine Lim (85-80-83), Nur Eliana Ariffin (83-81-84)
254 – Ashley Lau (86-79-89)
255 – Lim Ai Lynn (84-83-88)
256 – Lai Wan Wei (79-86-91)