KANGAR: Patience is a virtue. And it paid off for Low Khai Jie, who bagged Perak’s first ever Malaysia Games (Sukma) gold medal in golf.
Khai Jie, who had been struggling the past year after changing his swing, led on the first two days of competition.
However, the final round of competition was no walk in the park for Khai Jie, who turns 18 on June 10.
Despite a shaky front nine where he picked up bogeys on the first, seventh and ninth holes, Khai Jie held on for the win at the Putra Golf Club in Sungai Batu Pahat on Tuesday.
“I was nervous during the crossover because I was four strokes down but I managed to birdie the 10th and 11th holes and that gave me a comfortable cushion to build on. I managed to save a lot of pars and that worked out for me,” said Khai Jie.
“I could only relax after the 17th,” he joked, adding that the Sukma gold was the perfect birthday present.
Khai Jie, who is also the team captain, led Perak to a silver medal in the men’s team event behind Federal Territories. Johor bagged the bronze.
Meanwhile, Johor’s Loy Hee Yin took home the women’s individual title.
First-round leader Hee Yin trailed Terengganu’s Genevieve Ling I-Rynn by one stroke on the second day and carded a one-under 71 on the final day for a three-day total of 222 to cap off a memorable debut.
Malacca’s Nur Eliana Ariffin took the silver with 226 and Terengganu’s Nur Durriyah Damian ended her campaign with a 227 to claim the bronze.
“It’s unbelievable. I was two strokes behind Genevieve up until the 14th. But then she double-bogeyed and I managed a three-shot swing to birdie the hole. That turned things around for me. By the 17th, I knew it was mine,” said Hee Yin.
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