SEA Games squad in search for golden glitter

The SEA Games 2013 golf team with co-managers Dato' Rabeahtul Aloya Abbas, coach Tony Maloney and Low Teck San
The SEA Games 2013 golf team with co-team manager Dato’ Rabeahtul Aloya Abbas of MALGA, coach Tony Maloney and team manager Low Teck San of MGA

Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Golf Association is confident that its strong ensemble of amateurs will be able to deliver their target of two gold medals at the 27 South East Asian (SEA) Games.

The association has spared no resources in the run-up to the golf championship which tees off on December 15 at the Royal Myanmar Golf Club, including flying in world number 10 Gavin Kyle Green, enlisting experienced Australian professional Tony Maloney as the team coach and providing accommodation outside of the Games Village, which is closer to the golf course.

Green, who won the prestigious Western Refining Sun Bowl College All-America Classic last month, is due to arrive in the Naypitaw on the eve of the tournament to link up with the experienced trio of Abel Tam, Low Khai Jei and Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf in the men’s team. The lady representatives are Michelle Koh, Vivienne Chin and Nur Durriyah Damian.

Team Malaysia went through their paces at the Royal Myanmar Golf Club on Thursday, mindful that anything less than a gold medal triumph would represent a major disappointment.

Malaysia last struck gold in 2001 when the men’s quartet of Airil Rizman Zahari, S. Sivachandhran, Mohd Shaaban Hussin and Sahal Saedin won the team competition on home soil.

Seasoned campaigner Tam alluded that while the team will be strengthened by the addition of Gavin – who will start as the favourite in the men’s individual contest, they were not taking anything for granted.

“I think our past disappointments has taught us to be cautious with our expectations. There is a lot of golf to be played and we don’t want to be over-confident from the start. Having Gavin back is a major boost to our chances but I believe every single one of us has pull in a good effort and deliver the results consistently over four days,” said the  21-year-old Johorean.

“From a team perspective, we get along well and we’ve achieved some success together in the past, so the chemistry bit is taken care of us. What is more important is staying healthy for the duration of the tournament and trying to play some good golf,” he added, noting that team suffered during the 2011 edition in Palembang when first round leader Low was ruled out due to food poisoning.

Michelle Koh has been given the nod as the team captain and the Kuantan lass is hoping to pull off another major victory after leading the ladies’ team to victory at the South East Asian Team Amateur Championship for the Santi Cup earlier in the year.

“I’m sure our closest rivals [Thailand and Philippines] will come prepared to avenge their defeat in the Santi Cup competition and I think we need to focus on what we need to do. We’re all excited because the team really feels that the gold is within our reach and we want to make Malaysia proud,” she noted.