109th Amateur Open in Malacca

THE Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) will be
organising the prestigious 109th Malaysian Amateur
Open in Malacca on May 19-22 at the A’Famosa Golf
Resort.
Attracting participants mainly from the
Asia-Pacific region, Malaysian contenders are no
more accorded automatic entry as they are required
to qualify through the Sabah Amateur Open,
Sarawak Amateur Open and Malaysian Amateur
Close tournaments.
“The MGA is working towards achieving the target
of having Malaysian champions in both the
men’s and the newly launched women's division. It
has been a while since we’ve had a Malaysian
name engraved on the championship trophy,” said
MGA President, Datuk Robin Loh.
“As locals no longer enjoy automatic entry, the MAO
is a culmination of the qualifying rounds
for the Peninsular (45th Malaysian Amateur Close
scheduled for April 5-7), Sabah Amateur Open
(April 22-24) and Sarawak Amateur Open (May
13-15).”
Since its inauguration in 1894, the Malaysian
Amateur Open Golf Championship has gone through
several transformations in name, challenge
trophies, title sponsors and format of play.
This will be only the third edition that will include a
women's division after it was introduced at
the 107th Malaysian Amateur Open at the Kelab
Golf Sarawak in 2009.
R. Nachimuthu was the last Malaysian to have won
the title when the championship was held at
the Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in 1997.
There have been several near-misses for our
players as was the case with Iylia Jamil finishing
runner-up to champion Mhark Fernando
of the Philippines at the Damai Laut Golf & Country
Club last year.
In the ladies’ division, 17-year-old Thidapa
Suwannapura from Thailand overcame a
threestroke
deficit in the final round to clinch the title by two
shots over compatriot Yupaporn
Kawinpakorn with our national player Kelly Tan
finishing third in the 2010 edition.

Road Show to promote Malaysian Open

THE Malaysian Open will be celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year on a grand scale, with three
Road shows planned from Feb 18.
The show, held in conjunction with the Maybank
Malaysian Open on April 14 -17 April, will start from
the Curve in Kula Lumpur on Feb 18-20, and
participants stand a chance to win a Hyundai
Sonata car.
Themed “It’s All About The Drive”, this road-show
also offers participants a chance to win a four-day
Season Ticket to the Maybank Malaysian Open at
the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC).
In addition, winning participants will also stand
the chance to win a Hyundai Sonata on the final day
of the Maybank Malaysian Open.
This road-show is one of three planned in the lead
up to the nation’s premier golf tournament.
The next Road Shows are scheduled to take place
on March 23-27 at Mid Valley and on March 30-April
4 April at One Utama shopping centre respectively.
To participate in the “It’s All About The Drive”
contest, visit the road-show at The Curve and sink a
putt to win a four-day Season Ticket. Ticket holders
must attend all four days of the tournament and
collect four stamps in total.
On the fourth day, the qualified ticket holder must
sink all three putts consecutively in order to win
the car.
This is one of the many activities planned for the
upcoming Maybank Malaysian Open 2011.