Kuala Lumpur: Four lucrative starts at the Maybank Malaysian Open will be on offer during the two-day National Qualifier, which will take place at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club next Tuesday.
The pre-qualifying tournament gives the opportunity to Malaysian professionals to battle it out for a chance to tee-off alongside the likes of Luke Donald, Charl Schwartzel and former winner Matteo Manaserro as well as top stars from both the European and Asian Tours during the 52nd edition of the national Open from March 21-24.
Title sponsor Maybank’s commitment to the development of Malaysian golf champions has once again come through with a large allocation of 22 invites to top local professionals and amateurs to participate in the tournament – including the top four finishers in the domestic qualifier.
The local challenge is once again expected to spearheaded by Danny Chia, who is the sole Malaysian to qualify automatically by virtue of being placed in the top-65 of the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. The 40-year-old Maybank ambassador will look to make amends for his early exit last year, when he missed the halfway cut by two strokes.
As expected, reigning domestic champion Nicholas Fung topped the list of Maybank invites for the US$2.75 million tournament. The 23-year-old Sabahan, who has grabbed headlines with his dominance on both the domestic and regional stage, will be determined to cement his status as nation’s top professional with a good showing in his sixth straight appearance at the national Open.
Also gaining direct entry are the quartet of Sukree Othman, R. Nachimuthu, Airil Rizman Zahari and another Maybank flagbearer Shaaban Hussin. They are joined by Akhmal Tarmizee Nazari, who booked his berth by winning the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) 2012 season-ending Maybank Tour Players’ Championship last December.
Meanwhile, event promoter Global One nominated veterans Md Rashid Ismail and S. Murthy as well as former nationals S. Sivachandhran, Mohd Azman Basharuddin and Kenneth De Silva as their invitees.
In addition to the slots for professionals, tournament custodians Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) are yet to name the six amateur slots traditionally reserved for the nation’s top amateurs.
