The experience gained from competing in an international competition in Manila has fired up national junior golfers Muhammad Ajmal Amin Mohd Fajri and Wang Xin Yao for the Saujana 100PLUS Junior Championships which begins tomorrow.
The duo participated in the just concluded Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Championships and want to take advantage of their recent experience when they tee-off at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.
Ajmal, 16, and Xin Yao, 15, are among several Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) national junior and development squads competing in the Saujana-100PLUS Junior Championships.
In the absence of Ng Jing Xuen, 15, who created history by clinching a gold medal in the women’s individual event at the 32nd SEA Games, Xin Yao, Aqmal and the other competitors will still find the going tough at the Bunga Raya course.
Known as The Crocodile, it is a course that shows little mercy to the faint-hearted for its water hazards, deep bunkers, tricky greens, and hilly layout.
Apart from Ajmal and Xin Yao, the other MGA players competing are Nor Haqeim Hadi, Ngo Yi Belle, Alya Afza Hazari, Saujana Club resident champions Austin Gan Zi Meng and Kelly Low Ka Yan.
Ajmal said the APGC championships was a good outing indeed. âIt was very hot when we competed at the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Manila. I had also hurt by back and the injury is still there although it is less painful now,â said Ajmal. âPlaying against foreign players was a great challenge in Manila and a good adventure.â
âThe Bunga Raya course at Saujana is not new to me as I have played on it many times. It is very tricky and punishes those who make even a slight error. My target is to finish among the top three,â added Ajmal.
âI have taken one-year break from school to concentrate on my game. But I am doing home studies as next year is an important year as I have the SPM exams. This way I can balance my studies and compete in competitions,â he added.
Xin Yao, who claimed her first state amateur title in 2022 with a nine-stroke victory at the Johor Amateur Open, said: âI hope to continue my consistency. In the APGC, I finished overall 8th and had a couple of good rounds. My biggest challenge in the Saujana-100PLUS Junior Championships is my own physical and mental strength.
âI donât think of who is competing in the tournament. What matters most to me is my own performance on the golf course,â she said.
The Saujana-100PLUS Junior Championships, supported and sanctioned by R&A WAGR, Asian Development Tour, and the MGA, will start tomorrow and conclude on Thursday.
