SUBANG [Selangor]: National amateur Daeng Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz completed a fine comeback to claim his first senior amateur title at the MPI Saujana Amateur Championship on Thursday.
The 15-year-old, who trailed Singapore’s Johnson Poh by three strokes coming into the final round, closed with 18 straight pars for a closing even-par 72 at the Bunga Raya tract of Saujana Golf & Country Club.
It proved enough for Daeng, who totalled five-under 211 to claim a two-shot victory over Kevin Caesario Akbar (74) of Indonesia, who pipped Johnson into second place after the overnight leader suffered an unlikely meltdown by dropping five shots in his last three holes – including a triple bogey at the par-three 17th, when he took a drink with his tee-shot.
Daeng was pleased with his short-game display as he put behind an insipid display at the Malaysian Amateur Open last week, where he finished joint 10th.
“Well, it’s been a long time coming but I’m really glad to finally get an amateur title under my belt. I wasn’t particularly pleased with my display at the national amateur meet last week but I bounced back strongly with a consistent and patient display here,” said Daeng, who made history in April when he became the youngest-ever player to win on the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.
“I set out this morning hoping to gain as many birdies as possible and make a dent in Johnson’s lead but I just couldn’t buy one today. I played some solid golf – hit 11 of 14 fairways and scrambled well. My putting came in again to keep me in contention until Johnson’s misfortune turned the tide in my favour.
“My goal at the start of the year was to make a move on the World Amateur Golf Rankings and earn a place at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and I’m taking concrete steps towards that,” shared the Johorean, who has been called up as part of a youthful squad for the 28th South East Asian (SEA) Games in a fortnight.
There was a double cheer for the locals when Team Malaysia B comprising of Daeng and Amir Nazrin Jailani claimed the inaugural team event with a combined score of 283 – a single stroke better than the Singaporean pair of Johnson and Marc Ong.
Leading results (Par-72)>
Malaysian unless stated
211 – Daeng Abd Rahman Abd Aziz 71-68-72
213 – Kevin Caesario Akbar (INA) 70-69-74
214 – Johnson Poh (SIN) 69-67-78
216 – Genki Okada (JPN) 71-74-71
217 – Amir Nazrin Jailani 70-74-73
218 – Marc Ong (SIN) 70-78-70
219 – Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA) 71-78-70, Abdul Hadi Uda Thith (SIN) 73-74-72
220 – Sangchai Kaewcharoen (THA) 72-71-77, Harrison Endycott (AUS) 73-76-71
222 – Chi Huang (TPE) 72-73-77, Yongxuan Yin (CHN) 71-73-78, Gregory Foo (SIN) 75-72-75
