Kuala Lumpur: The Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM) has named a provisional 12-strong squad – six boys and six girls – for the inaugural Prudential Junior Causeway Trophy in Singapore next week.
The one-day fixture on June 18 provides a professional-standard competition for Singapore and Malaysia’s most promising under-16 players, before their seniors take to the fairway of World Classic at Laguna National Golf & Country Club for the Prudential Causeway Trophy from June 20 to 22.
Led by the respective senior team captains – Mohd Said Abdul Latif (Singapore) and Chong Chee Ming (Malaysia), the teams will compete in match play format in twelve singles matches.
To further support individual development each junior player will be assigned a golfing mentor from the respective senior team to accompany them on their practice rounds and provide one-to-one coaching during the week of the tournament.
The ClubHouse understands that the Malaysian squad was picked based on the 2013 Order of Merit for The ClubHouse Junior Golf Rankings presented by Titleist.
Prudential Singapore chief executive Tomas Urbanec said: “We’re very excited to announce the two junior teams who will compete for the inaugural Prudential Junior Causeway Trophy at Laguna National 2014.
“Prudential is supportive of youth and sports, and this tournament takes our support to the next level. We’re giving some of Singapore and Malaysia’s most talented junior golfers, under the age of 16, the opportunity to experience the triumphs and challenges of a professional competition.
“We hope that this fixture, and others like it, will encourage more youth to participate in golf, while providing a platform for promising players in both countries to develop a future in sport,” he noted.
Speaking to The ClubHouse on Tuesday, Chong expressed his hope that the Malaysian junior team will set the tone for the professionals as they seek amends for last year’s disappointing 8½ – 15½ defeat to the host.
“I’m really pleased with the enthusiasm shown by the juniors when we informed them on their selection and we have put together a really talented group of kids, who have the privilege to represent their country,” said the Malaysian skipper.
“We don’t expect it to be a walk in the park for the juniors as they will need to acclimatise to the punishing World Classic layout very quickly but I believe the experience will do them a world of good. Eventhough, they will only be playing singles, the juniors stand to learn much about being part of a team and hopefully, they will give the professionals a confidence boost by winning their tournament,” he added.
Prudential Junior Causeway Trophy (June 18)
SINGAPORE
Boys: Ryan Wong, Leonard Tee, Tommy Tan, Jeryl Tan Foo Yew, Desmond Kim Yong Jee & Nicholas Mok
Girls: Amanda Tan, Jacqueline Young, Sarah Tan, Wong Yen Ting, Ashley Loh Leanne, Callista Chen Wan Qing
MALAYSIA
Boys: Danial Hj Mohd Sidek, Muhammad Syafiq Musa, Sazanur Iman Salenin, Adam Tee Jia Lih, Daeng Abdul Rahman Abd Aziz & Khavish Varman Varadan
Girls: Warda Amira Abdul Rawof, Kelie Kan Kah Yan, Raeysha Surendran, Ong Shi Qing, Nur Syazani Amalia Mohd Shahzan & Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari
