Kuala Lumpur: Two-time reigning champion Kelly Tan Guat Chen will start as the early favourite at the seventh edition of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin (TSM) Golf Challenge which tees off at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club on Friday.
Having earned the prestigious World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event status last year, the invitational meet will once again gather 80 of the nation’s top junior golfers below the age of 21, who will have their eyes firmly set on the top prizes – with the champion in the boys and girls under-21 categories receiving golf scholarships worth RM40,000 and RM30,000 respectively.The under-15 champion will walk home with a scholarship worth RM3,000 and a new golf set.
The golf scholarships will be channelled through the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) to cover overseas training expenses for the winners in top golf academies in Australia such as the Elite Golf Training Programme in Brisbane and PGA International Golf Institute Australia in Gold Coast.
In-form Kelly, winner of the Johor Amateur Open last month, will lead a strong line-up of national amateurs namely national number one and Malaysian Games (SUKMA) champion Aretha Pan, Nur Durriyah Damian, Chan Tuck Soon, Mohd Afif Mohd Razif, making up for the absence of past champions Gavin Kyle Green (2009 & 2010) and Low Khai Jei (2011), who have earned amateur starts at the US$2 million Iskandar Johor Open this week.
Last year, Kelly notched rounds of 72, 67 and 79 to emerge victorious by six strokes ahead of fellow national Aretha Pan Herng. “It would be great to finish of 2012 by winning the TSM Challenge for an unprecedented third time. I have confident in myself but I will not let that over power my thoughts,” said the 19-year-old Kelly, who spearheaded Malaysia to a respectable 25th placing at the World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo trophy in September.
TSM Charity Golf president Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas shared his optimism that the top-notch event will provide a stepping stone for Malaysian junior golfers to hone their skills in preparation of bigger challenges ahead.
“Since we started this tournament in 2006 with the tagline “In Search of the Malaysian Tiger”, it is been our aim to give local junior amateur a platform to enhance their skills. With golf being included in the 2016 Olympiad programme, it is important that the crème de la crème of Malaysian golf is given every opportunity to raise their game and prepare to spearhead the nation’s challenge at the highest level.”
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the championship founder, is expected to present the prizes to the main winners after the conclusion of the final round on Sunday.
