Shah Alam: Japan’s Daichi Hayashi overcame a rain-delayed setback to continue his performance for the third consecutive day enroute to sweeping the US Kids Golf Malaysian Championships in style. The youngster from the land of the rising sun, who had carded rounds of 3-under 69 and 5-under 67 over the first two rounds, kept his momentum intact to come home with a one-under 71 score today to clinch the 15-18 age category title and the overall Gross title with a total score of 207.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, ‘Heavy rain before the tee off made the course a little more difficult to play but I kept my focus to make sure I don’t make mistakes that could be costly,’ said the Japanese ace. But while the boys missed out on the main title, Yi Belle Ngo restored order by claiming the Girls 15-18 age category title and the overall Gross title with a three-day total of 221.
Overall, Malaysian players performed well in the championships by winning seven of the 13 age category titles at stake. The US Kids Golf Malaysian Championships which got off to a start at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club over the two days was marred by a heavy downpour this morning, thus delaying the tee off for more than two hours.
SportExcel executive director C. Sivanandan said despite the heavy downpour which caused a delay in the tee off, the championships was completed albeit a slight delay. ‘We are grateful that the tournament was completed because a cancellation would have been a disappointment for the young golfers who have come from 16 countries and have been looking forward to the championships eagerly,’ he said after the prize presentation ceremony.
Sivanandan added that when juniors play better and raise Priority Status to 11 or higher, they will get invitations to play in the world-famous US Kids Golf World Youth Championship (13-18 years) and the US Kids Golf World Championship (5-12 years) in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. The US KIDS Golf Malaysian Tour and International Championships were made possible with sponsorship from Bermaz Motor Trading Sdn Bhd, a dealership and retailer of new and used Mazda brand vehicles as well as the provision of after-sales and spare parts services in Malaysia as well as support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
As the main local contributor, Mazda had donated RM100,000 to organise the tournament and the donation has directly facilitated Sportexcel’s efforts to help the country’s players. He added that 77 junior golfers, comprising 50 per cent locals and 50 per cent foreigners took part in the competition which is being held for the third year.