Local boy Daeng Abdul Rahman turned back the clock when he scored a two-under 70 for a three-day aggregate 213 to win the Camry Cup at Forest City Golf Resort here today, defeating overnight leader Kemarol Baharin by one stroke.
Daeng, who is very familiar with the Legacy Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, exchanged leads with Kemarol from the start but neither enjoyed a big lead over the other. They were all square with three holes to go when Daeng birdied 16 to go one-up, and he never lost that lead. Both players birdied 17 and parred the last.
“It’s been a great tournament, everything was perfect,” said Daeng after collecting his cheque for RM31,500. “The course was in great shape and greens were fast. I thank everyone for putting up a great show. It’s fantastic to win again as my last victory was in 2017.”
The course was indeed in such good condition that this was the first event on the Toyota Tour when “preferred lie” was not in play. This was also the first time that Forest City has hosted a professional tournament. The Toyota Tour is organised by the Professional Golf Malaysia and delivered by MST Golf Group.
Meanwhile, Geraldine Wong registered her first win as a professional when she birdied the last hole to finish with a 76 and a three-day aggregate of 220, edging Audrey Tan by a stroke. Victory assured the KL-born lass a cheque for a sweet RM10,000.
Wong, who turned professional in June, went into the 17th hole trailing her fellow rookie Tan by a stroke. At the 18th, Wong found the green and was left with 12 feet to the hole. Tan’s approach found a bunker.
“I wasn’t sure where Audrey’s ball landed, and I just focused on making a decent putt,” said the 23-year-old.
Tan gallantly splashed out but couldn’t save par, ending up with a bogey. Wong knew a birdie would win her the tournament.
“My caddy helped me with the line, which was right to left and slightly uphill and I’m extremely happy to have made that putt especially when I couldn’t make a putt the whole day.” Wong is looking forward to competing in Kota Seriemas for the Alphard Cup in two weeks. After that she will head to Thailand and Taiwan to compete in their qualifying schools.
For Tan it was a great achievement since joining the pro ranks after earning her Toyota Tour card three weeks ago at the Qualifying School at Palm Resort GCC. Order of Merit leader Aretha Pan finished joint third with Dianne Luke on 224.
Final Leading Scores
Men Top 10 & Ties
213 (-3) Daeng Abdul Rahman 72-71-70 72
214 (-2) Kemarol Baharin 72-70-72
216 (Even) Kim Leun Kwang 73-72-71
218 (+2) Faisal Sabudin 73-71-74
220 (+4) Maveen Kumar 75-76-69
221 (+5) Khor Kheng Hwai 73-75-73
222 (+6) Nor Harith Hadi 73-77-72
223 (+7) Anson Yeo (A) 76-74-73, Sukree Othman 71-77-75, Muhazim Bakhtiar 73-75-75, Nazri Zain 70-76-77
Ladies Top 5 & Ties
220 (+4)Geraldine Wong 73-71-76
221 (+5) Audrey Tan 75-73-73
224 (+8)Aretha Pan 78-72-74; Dianne Luke 73-75-76
225 (+9) Ng Jing Xuen (A) 73-74-78