Galven pips Nicholas to second straight title on Toyota Tour


One happy man: Galven Green celebrating after beating Nicholas Fung in a playoff during the Corolla Cross Cup. Inset: Galven posing with the trophy. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Galven Green makes it two back-to-back wins on the Toyota Tour after he sunk a birdie in a dramatic playoff against Nicholas Fung to win the Corolla Cross Cup at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Galven started the final day of the Toyota Tour’s second event with a 10-under and Nicholas a stroke behind. But a bogey for Galven on the eighth hole and three birdies for Nicholas saw the lead change heading into the back nine.

Leading by two, Nicholas continued his good form by scoring birdies on both the 11th and 12th holes, as did Galven.

The gap remained at two strokes until Galven managed to birdie the par-five 16th hole, while on the next par-three, Nicholas bogeyed and the score was all even between the two, leading to a playoff on the par-four 18th.

Galven posing with the trophy. — Bernama
Galven posing with the trophy. — Bernama

Both players drove well at the tee and stayed on course. Unfortunately, Nicholas, who is still nursing a thumb injury, missed his putt and Galven sealed the win with a birdie putt from 12 feet.

“I had a lucky drive and hit a good second shot, and then had a great putt. It was a good hole.

“It was a tough front nine for me because I didn’t really get much going. I wasn’t really hitting the best I could.

“But I managed to come back on the back nine, hit some good shots and the putts were good,” he said.

After claiming the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy in February, Galven said the consecutive wins are a massive boost to his confidence for the remainder of the tour.

“It’s good, it gives me a lot more confidence going into the season. I just have to keep practising and, clearly, something is working right for me.

“It’s tough to win but every event I just go out there and do the best I can,” he said.

First-round leader Kenneth De Silva bounced back after a less than favourable second day, sharing the day’s low round of six-under 66 with Shahriffuddin Ariffin.

De Silva closed out the tournament in joint third on eight-under 208, together with Khavish Varadan and Sukree Othman.

K. Rhaasrikanesh won best amateur, making it a back-to-back title for him after doing the same at the Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy, while Tan Ying Ying was the best amateur in the ladies category, finishing in joint second and two strokes behind winner Audrey Tan.

FINAL ROUND SCORES

Men

203: Galven Green 67-67-69, Nicholas Fung 68-67-68; 208: Kenneth De Silva 66-76-66, Khavish Varadan 71-68-69, Sukree Othman 69-68-71; 209: Paul San 69-69-71, Ben Leong 68-71-70; 210: Lim Leun Kwang 71-70-69; 211: Shariffuddin Ariffin 74-71-66.

Women

224: Audrey Tan 75-73-76; 225: Tan Ying Ying (a) 74-79-73, Amalia Shahzan 75-76-75; 227: Ainil Johani Bakar 73-76-78.

Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

RM 11.12/month

Billed as RM 11.12 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter.

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 9.87/month

Billed as RM 118.40 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Golf

Secret to strong, penetrating tee shots
Cambodia’s new frontier
Maybank Asean Golf Getaway
Golf-Irish amateur Howard caps remarkable journey to reach Open Championship
Shahriffuddin gains timely confidence boost ahead of busy schedule
Johor in global spotlight
Build a strike you can trust
Mixed fortunes for our pros
Clark back into the world top-10
PGA Tour announces new promotion and relegation format

Others Also Read