Published July 17, 2008 on March 23, 2019

Local Junior Golfers Take Their First Swing at a Golf Challenge

---

Budding juniors had their first swing out of class at the Meru Valley Resort’s River and Academy Course on Wednesday, 20 March 2019. The first edition of the Junior Golf Challenge provides a fun environment for young aspiring golfers to compete in three categories: Junior Elite, Junior Panthers and Cub.

Chin Jin Loon shot 24 strokes to win the Junior Elite category by 9 strokes defeating Lin Yin Lin who played 33 strokes. Both played on two loops of three on the River Nine of the course.

Chin Jin Loon said “I was worried that I may lose the tournament in the beginning but really glad to finish by winning it. I’ll continue to practice harder to improve my skills to compete in the many other competitions to come”.

Meanwhile, on the Academy Course, Lakveer Singh carded 21 strokes which is (- 3), projected a total score of 24, to win the Junior Panthers category.

He also tied the course record with Matheus who also shot 21 strokes which is (– 3) for the tournament; winning the Cub category defeating Tomohiro who played 30 strokes in total.

Both the Junior Panther and Cubs played over a specially designed 6 holes green for juniors.

Speaking to the juniors, Principal of Tenby Schools, Richard Davidson said: “Winning or losing is part of a competition and it’s all about participating and gaining experience. It’s in a rare situation where students get to perform better than their teachers. I saw little champs here play better than me. I would like to see more of your friends joining the academy.”

Of the competition, Head of Academy, Sundaresan, said: “We definitely have witnessed some truly spectacular golf by these budding young golfers despite being the first event for the academy. Our junior golf academy is aimed to encourage parents to promote their young children to take up golf which can inculcate good character building and social skills that are needed when they enter adulthood.”

The Advisor and patron of Meru Valley Junior Academy, Dato’ Hock Toh said: “As a golf resort, we felt the need for a junior golf academy for the benefit of not just for members and their children, but also for residents and long-stay guests.” We believe that the junior programme to not only be one if the best in the country but possibly one of the least expensive as well, making the entry to the game not just enjoyable but affordable,” he added.