Marcus Lim won the Penang men’s title by a massive nine shots.
MARCUS Lim and Mirabel Ting continued their recent fine form this week with triumphs at the Penang Amateur Open Championships, and they should go some way to bolstering their world rankings in the amateur game.
The victories at Penang Golf Club were both emphatic, in a tournament that marked the first state championships to be held since golf made a return from the Covid-19 pandemic. Marcus won by a massive nine shots, while Mirabel registered a five-stroke winning margin.
But as good as those performances were, not everyone will have been surprised. That’s because these two young national athletes played significant roles in propelling Malaysia’s golf contingent to four medals at the Vietnam South-East Asian (SEA) Games in May.
Indeed, Marcus’ form since then has been characterised by victory in the Malaysian Amateur Closed at Royal Perak Golf Club, a sixth place finish at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour’s Port Dickson Championship and a runner-up spot in the TSM Golf Challenge at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Speaking to TeeUp, he said he was pleased with the way he played in Penang and was delighted with the result.
“It is always good to win,” he said. “But I’m also pleased with how I hit the ball and with my course management.
“The golf course is not exceptionally long and off a number of tees I used a long-iron or an iron-wood. This allowed for better placement and with my wedges, I did well.”
Marcus, who with his Sacred Heart University team won the American collegiate men’s golf Northeast Conference Championship in May and picked up the individual title for a superb double, said he kept to his game plan of “not being too aggressive, but aggressive enough” when the opportunity arose.
The Connecticut-base lad had all three rounds in the 60s, shooting 66, 66 and 69 for a 15-under-par 201 total and the nine-shot victory margin.
Lim Beng Keat was runner-up in Penang on six-under 210 and Muhamad Nasrullah Zulkifli third on two-under 214.
Mirabel carded a five-under 211 for her win. She shot 70, 74 and a tournament-best 67 in the last round to leave China’s Yan Yinuo in second place on even-par 216 and Winnie Ng Yu Xuan third on 219.
Mirabel’s form had her win the coveted Singapore Open Amateur Championship at Tanah Merah Country Club and finish in second place at the Malaysian Amateur Closed Championships.
With the former’s calibre on the official World Amateur Golf Raninkgs (WAGR), Mirabel moved up 71 slots to 124th in the world, leaving her the closet she has been to breaking into the top-100.
A few more showings like she’s had recently and Mirabel will almost surely become the third Malaysian in the top-100.
Presently, Ashey Lau is the country’s top-ranked player in the WAGR rankings at 30th, while Jeneath Wong is 73rd, having climbed two places up after her win in the women’s Portsea Open Amateur at Portsea Golf Club in Victoria, Australia.
Making up the most ground was Xin Yao Wang, who rocketed 690 places up the standings to 1,415th. That mega move came on the back of two good outings. She won the MGA (Malaysian Golf Association) State Junior Open Circuit – 1st Circuit and was runner-up at the Malaysian Amateur Closed at Royal Perak.
