Nilai [NEGERI SEMBILAN]: Selangor duo Muhd Afif Mohf Fathi and Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari clinched victories at the Negeri Sembilan Amateur Open on Thursday – in what is the final warm-up event ahead of July’s Malaysian Games (SUKMA) in Kuching.

Rounds of 72, 70 and 73 saw Afif complete a successful title defence at Nilai Springs Golf & Country Club, finishing three strokes clear of SUKMA Selangor team mates Danial Durisic and Amir Nazrin Jailani.

The 16-year-old was the only participant to finish under-par at the Nilai Springs Golf & Country Club, totalling one-under 216.

“I am really happy with how things turned out this week. I have been struggling with my swing plane for the past couple of tournaments but my dad advised me to stay patient and kept on grinding.

“I started with two solid rounds and despite coming under pressure with two early bogeys, I managed to steady the ship and just coast home for the win,” said Afif.

Siti, on the other hand, was deighted with a season-first victory, which incidentally was also her maiden senior amateur title.

Despite struggling off the tees, an improved short game display helped Siti to rounds of 75, 73 and 78 for a 10-over 226 overall.

Indonesia’s Rivani Adelia Sihotang of Indonesia was three strokes adrift in second with Junie Khaw Wen Jun taking third place on 230.

“I’m really happy to be back in the winning circle before the Ramadhan break because I needed that extra confidence going into SUKMA. I haven’t shot three rounds in the 70s for a while now, so hopefully I can work on the positives from this week and put myself in contention come SUKMA,” noted Siti.

The SUKMA golf competition will be held at the Kelab Golf Sarawak from July 26-28.

LEADING FINAL RESULTS (Par-72)
Men
215 – Muhd Afif Mohd Fathi 72-70-73
218 – Danial Durisic 72-74-72, Amir Nazrin Jailani 74-70-74
219 – Galven Kendall Green 72-72-75
224 – Danny M Ghani Millis 78-73-73, Lee Chong Li 74-76-74, Mohd Firdaus Sabri 73-72-79
225 – K. Rhaasrikanesh 79-71-75, Mohd Syafiq Abd Rahman 75-72-78
226 – Muhd Ikhmal Basry 73-74-79

Ladies
226 – Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari 75-73-78
229 – Rivani Adelia Sihotang (INA) 80-69-80
230 – Junie Khaw Wen Jun 79-77-74
231 – Qistina Balqis Azhar 81-74-76
234 – Nur Eliana Ariffin 79-77-78, Liyana Durisic 79-75-80
236 – Ong Shi Qing 80-75-81
238 – Nur Musfirah Armalis 85-77-76, Noraishah Alisa Che Omar 83-75-80
239 – Geraldine Wong Xiao Xuan 83-75-81, Nurezrina Alisa Che Omar 78-80-81