Published July 17, 2008 on August 9, 2018

Malaysia’s Ervin Chang Wins KL Amateur Open

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National amateur Ervin Chang emerging top on the leaderboard at the 13^thKuala Lumpur Amateur Open held at Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA) shooting scores of 66-67-74 for a winning 9-under-par total 207.

“It’s been a challenging game, and everyone on the field provided an enjoyable play over the three days. There were some very good players in the field and I was hard pressed to maintain my game plan. However, I managed to keep my cool and focused on my game one shot at a time,” said the 19-year-old.

With this win, Ervin Chang has reaffirmed his position as the top amateur player in the region and it will certainly boost his confidence going into his next major event, the Asian Games 2018, which will be held from 26-29 August at Pondok Indah Golf & Country Club, Jakarta, Indonesia.

“It feels good to win here right after winning the Singapore Amateur Open recently,” Ervin Chang said. “I had fun at this event and hope to continue this fine form at the 2018 Asian Games.”

Singapore’s James Leow was close on Ervin’s heels on the leaderboard today and played better with one-under-par 71 for 7-under-par 209 total managing to reduce the deficit to two strokes from five strokes previously. However, despite the deficit, he only managed to finish second at the conclusion of the tournament.

MGA national player’s Muhammad Afif Fathi who is also part of Malaysian Team in the Asian Games finished third with a creditable performance of 6-under-par 210 total. He carded 69, 69 and 72 to secure the third spot.

The tournament, which carries World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) since 2008, attracted 140 participants, both male and female from Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and the U.S.

Philippines’ Lois Kaye Go continued to show her mettle by holding on to her lead from day one to win the tournament by 3 strokes from her nearest competitor. “I am quite happy with my performance today,” Go said. “I managed to minimize my mistakes and finished with a one-over-par 73 today.” Go finished with 7-under-par 209 to clinch the ladies title of the Kuala Lumpur Amateur Open.

Isabella Leung of Hong Kong finished second after carding one-over-par 73 today for 4-under-par 212 total. “It was a tough day,” Leung said. “I was trying to catch up and go after Lois, but I was running out of holes.

Warda Amira of Malaysia finished solo third after carding 4-over-par 76 today for 8-over-par 224 total.

YB Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Minister of Youth & Sports who attended the prize-giving ceremony said, “The Malaysian Government is committed to encouraging its people to lead a healthy and active lifestyle and promoting high-performance sports amongst its athletes. I would like to congratulate the Malaysian Golf Association and KGPA for taking the initiative to organize one of the most prestigious amateur events in South East Asia and creating a platform for the local golfers to compete against the best in the region.”

 

Top 5 winners

 

Men

Ervin Chang (Malaysia)                           –           66, 67, 74 – 207

James Leow (Singapore)                        –            69, 69, 71 – 209

Muhammad Afif Fathi (Malaysia)         –           69, 69, 72 – 210

Matthew Cheung (Hong Kong)            –             73, 67, 71 – 211

Wei Wei Gao (Philippines)                     –           71, 72, 69 – 212

 

Ladies

Lois Kaye Go (Philippines)                      –         68, 68, 73 – 209

Isabella Leung (Hong Kong)                  –          70, 69, 73 – 212

Warda Amira Abd Rawof (Malaysia)  –            75, 73, 76 – 224

Michelle Cheung (Hong Kong)             –           76, 78, 73 – 227

Qistina Balkish (Malaysia)                       –         77, 73, 77 – 227