KGC junior golf tourney in November

Kota Kinabalu: Junior golfers are urged to participate in the 2nd Kinabalu Golf Club (KGC) Junior golf tournament to be held at the club course from November 23-24.

KGC Club captain Johnny Ng in a press conference held on Tuesday called on the parents to give their children the chance to compete and experience a proper golf tournament.

He said the tournament is a gross event and people who can play but without handicap are welcome to join.

There will have six age categories – A,B,C for both boys and girls. A is for 16-18, B for 13-15 and C for 10-12.

The entry fees inclusive of insurance is RM140 for guests and RM120 for club members.

A novelty event will also be held for those below 10-year-old and a minimal fee will be charged on the day itself.

Johnny said they are expecting about sixty participants including top State juniors such as defending boys champion Albright Chong, Fazley Chua ,Solomon and Jordan Mobijohn while KGC’s challenge will be led by Christopher Daniel James.

The girls category will likely sees the participation of national juniors Vivian Chin, Aretha Pan competing but it all depends whether they will take part in a tournament in Singapore which will be held around the same time.

Last year’s girls champion Celeste Lo is not likely to defend her title as she is currently studying overseas.

The tournament is part of the Club’s junior development programme and apart from giving exposure to the juniors, the event also serves as a mean in raising funds to sustain the running of the Club’s junior programmes.

Johnny also thanked all the volunteers and sponsors from the members and generous parents for their invaluable inputs in helping to organise the tournament.

The closing date for the competition is on November 12 and any enquiries are to contact Ronnie 016-8493895.

Meanwhile, Sabah Golf Association junior golf development coordinator Ronnie Pan said the association is taking the opportunity in competitions such as the KGC juniors tourney to scout for potential junior players for the future.

“We will observe each and every player during the competition and if they show some potential in their playing we will recruit them under our junior development programme. They will be trained for a year under us and our target is to groom them up to national level.”

Ronnie, who is also doing some private coaching for the juniors admitted that the success also depending on the support of their parents and schools for allowing them to compete in tournaments as well as the financial assistance from the government. He said at the moment the association has more than ten boys and girls in the Under-12 category and the same number of players in the boys and girls Under-15 category under their wings.