Ladies Championship stirs debate

The Mines tract has been pencilled in to host and serve as sponsor to the PGM Tour’s inaugural women’s championship in the middle of October.

THERE’S growing interest surrounding the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour’s inaugural Ladies Championship – particularly the prize money and the composition of the field.

The first public mention of the event, scheduled for the Mines Golf Club from Oct 14 to 16 and which has been applauded by all cross-sections of the industry as a strategic and welcome move for the development of women’s golf in Malaysia, was at the official launch of the PGM Tour’s 2025 calendar at the end of February.

It followed the conclusion of the PGM Seri Selangor Championships at Kelab Golf Seri Selangor in Petaling Jaya, where it was also announced that tournaments would be held in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang and Selangor.

According to the PGM website, “the 2025 calendar boasts a prize fund of over RM2mil and features 11 events, including the completed PKNS Selangor Masters, co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour, and the season-opening Seri Selangor Championship.

“Unlike previous years, the Tour will not travel to East Malaysia due to logistical and cost reasons with several traditional venues such as Kelab Golf Perkhimatan Awam, Bukit Jawi Golf Resort, Royal Pekan Golf Club, Royal Pahang Golf Club, Port Dickson Golf & Country Club, Kelab Rahman Putera Malaysia and Palm Resort Golf & Country Club returning as host venues,” the PGM article said.

Liyana Durisic, a multiple winner on the PGM Tour this season, including this week’s Port Dickson event, is expected to be in the field.

And of the new event, it added: “A unique women’s only event – The Ladies (Championship) – is also pencilled in for August, with The Mines Resort & Golf Club agreeing in principle to sponsor and host the RM300,000 tournament.”

A quick glance at the website this week showed that prize fund is now RM100,000.

It’s unclear what the reasons were behind the tournament having its prize money slashed by two-thirds to RM100,000.

TeeUp has reached out to the PGM Tour and the Mines’ executive chairman, Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, for comment on the matter.

Anwar also serves as president of the Malaysian Golf Association, a position he has held for almost 15 years.

Presently, the regular PGM Tour’s women’s events carry RM30,000 prize purses, with the winner awarded RM10,000, the runner-up RM6,000 and third place RM4,000.

Should these percentiles be used for the Ladies Championship, with its new prize money, the winner would be rewarded with RM33,300. And that would fall roughly in line with what the men take at their events – about RM31,500 at the RM180,000 tournaments.

The composition of the field is likely to be rather small, come October, should the organisers persist with the regular formula of invitation.

This has led to some speculation whether the PGM Tour, or the Mines, would invite the country’s three players based in the United States to attend – Ashley Lau, Kelly Tan and Alyaa Abdulghany.

One industry observer noted that it might have been possible if the prize purse remained at RM300,00.

“That would have perhaps given them a bit more incentive to come home and help support the event by way of drawing the spotlight to it.

“Their inclusion would certainly be a boost for the event and what it is supposed to represent – furthering the spread of the women’s game in Malaysia.”

The Ladies Championship falls after the end of the Epson Tour’s finale – the Epson Tour Championship at Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells, California from Oct 2 to 5.

So, there would be no clash of commitments there, it might be safe to say, were the three overseas-based players invited to what the PGM Tour hopes will become their marquee women’s tournament.

“But the present scenario does not hold much promise of that transpiring,” said the observer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“And it looks like the players who participate in the regular events will be the only ones there in October.

It is also unclear whether the PGM Tour or the Mines, as sponsors of the tournament, will go out of their way to invite up-and-coming players from around region – say Indonesia or Singapore, for example.

Several of Malaysia’s leading women players and a handful of up and coming and amateurs have on occasion been invited to Indonesia and Singapore for events.