Anson holds nerve to claim Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy
KUALA LUMPUR: Amateur golfer Anson Yeo produced a dramatic finish to lift the PGM Tour's Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy despite blowing a five-shot lead, edging his best friend Nathan Wong in a tense playoff at Saujana Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
What looked to be a comfortable cruise to victory quickly turned into a rollercoaster as the 19-year-old faltered with a two-over 74 in the final round, allowing Nathan, also an amateur, to erase the deficit with a sparkling five-under 67 and force extra holes.
But Anson, to his credit, delivered when it mattered most, holing out a stunning 30-foot chip for birdie on the first playoff hole to seal the title in spectacular fashion.
It marks Anson's second triumph of the year, having won the Sabah Amateur Open in March, making him only the second amateur to win on the PGM Tour since Marcus Lim's breakthrough in 2023.
"I started with a double bogey (on the first) and then had two more bogeys on holes 4 and 5," said Anson.
"It was quite a roller-coaster ride, and I became nervous as I saw my good friend catching up.
"I told myself that I came so far and just didn't want to throw it away like that. I am relieved that I won."
While Anson walked away with the trophy, he won't receive the RM31,500 prize purse due to his amateur status.
That honour instead went to third-placed Shahriffuddin Ariffin, who finished on eight-under 206 after closing with a 70.
Anson's win couldn't have come at a better time as he eyes a place in the national squad for the Thailand Sea Games in December.
He is eager to improve on his debut outing in Cambodia two years ago, where he returned empty-handed while teammate Malcolm Ting took silver and Ng Jing Xuen famously struck gold in the women's individual event.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Bang Hee Yeon etched her name in the history books by becoming the PGM Tour's first international women's champion.
The Saujana-based professional dominated the field with rounds of 70, 68, and 69 for a winning total of nine-under 207, finishing a massive 10 shots ahead of her closest rival.
Leading final round scores
Men
207 - Nathan Wong (a) 72-68-67, Anson Yeo (a) 67-66-74
Anson won first play-off hole
208 - Shahriffuddin Ariffin 67-71-70;
209 - Marcus Lim 69-71-69.
Women
207 - Bang Hee Yeon (Kor) 70-68-69;
217 - Liyana Durisic 69-73-75, Winnie Ng 70-69-78;
229 - Aretha Pan 77-75-77, Jocelyn Chee 77-74-78, Allycia Gan 72-78-79.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
Mirabel retains TSM Golf Challenge crown
KUALA LUMPUR: Mirabel Ting reinforced her status as Malaysia's top amateur golfer by becoming the first player in over a decade to successfully defend the girls' title at the TSM Golf Challenge—matching a feat last accomplished by Kelly Tan in 2012. The 20-year-old Sarawakian, currently world No. 2 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), carded rounds of 70, 68 and 71 for a winning total of 209 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) as the 14th edition of the prestigious junior event concluded on Thursday. It was another dominant display by Mirabel, who finished a whopping 12 strokes ahead of nearest challenger Wang Xin Yao (221). A three-way tie for third followed, with Nur Batrisya Balqis Abdul Ghani, Foong Zi Yu, and Nik Alicia Miriam Kamil all ending at 222. Former LPGA star and two-time Olympian Kelly had won three consecutive titles from 2010 to 2012. With Mirabel still eligible to compete next year, she could take aim at replicating that feat. However, the best achievement in the girls' category remains with Ainil Johani Bakar, who captured four straight titles from 2006 to 2009. Despite coming off a phenomenal collegiate season in the United States—where she bagged five titles, won the prestigious Annika Award, and finished joint runner-up at the NCAA Division I Championship—Mirabel played down expectations and approached the event with a relaxed mindset. "To be able to come back here and play an event actually means a lot," said Mirabel, who last featured on home soil at the Maybank Championship last October, where she impressed with a tied-12th finish in the LPGA Tour event. "I wasn't playing my best golf this week. Like I said, I've been away for six months at school—I attend Florida State University—and I basically just came back wanting to take a bit of a rest and ease into it. "Overall, I think I did okay, but there's still a lot to work on. I made quite a few mistakes out there, but it's still alright. I was just trying to go out there, have fun, do what I can on the course, and just be myself—not trying to put pressure on myself like, 'Oh, I'm supposed to be good.'" In the boys' division, fellow Sarawakian Anson Yeo also lived up to expectations by sealing a wire-to-wire victory with rounds of 69, 65, and 69 for a total of 203. The 19-year-old held off a strong challenge from Rizq Adam Rohizam (72-69-68) and Hariz Hezri (71-67-71), who shared second place on 209. Nathan Wong (210) and A. Nateeshvar (211) completed the top five. Anson's win further cements his rising status in the domestic amateur scene, having recently clinched the PGM Tun Ahmad Sarji Trophy—where he outplayed a strong field including established professionals. "This is my first time playing in the tournament, and I'm really happy to have won it," said Anson. "It was very competitive this week—everyone played really well. I felt good about my game overall, especially with my ball-striking and putting. "The SEA Games is one of my major goals this year, so this win gives me a good boost. I'll be playing in the PGM Penang Closed Championship next week to keep the momentum going." Leading final round scores: Boys 203: Anson Yeo 69-65-69; 209: Rizq Adam Rohizam 72-69-68, Hariz Hezri 71-67-71; 210: Nathan Wong 71-73-66; 211: A. Nateeshvar 73-67-71. Girls 209: Mirabel Ting 70-68-71; 221: Wang Xin Yao 76-73-72; 222: Nur Batrisya Balqis Abdul Ghani 77-72-73, Foong Zi Yu 71-72-78, Nik Alicia Miriam Kamil 72-72-78.
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
Sizzling 65 puts Anson top of boys' competition
PETALING JAYA: National golfer Anson Yeo (pic) has put himself in a strong position to claim his third title of the year after a commanding performance in the TSM Golf Challenge at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club yesterday. The 19-year-old shot a sizzling six-under 65 to go on top of the leaderboard of the boy's competition. Billed as RM9.73 for the 1st month then RM13.90 thereafters. RM12.33/month RM8.63/month Billed as RM103.60 for the 1st year then RM148 thereafters. Free Trial For new subscribers only
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- New Straits Times
NSC expecting to send up to 700 athletes to Thailand Sea Games
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Sports Council is expecting to come up with a shortlist of athletes to be registered for the Thailand Sea Games by September. NSC director-general Jefri Ngadirin said preparations for the games are well underway for athletes under NSC's full-time programme. The biennial games will be held across Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla on Dec 9-20. "We recently had a Sea Games preparation coordination meeting together with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the National Sports Institute," said Jefri yesterday (June 17). "We presented our preparation programme for our athletes, involving 43 sports (under NSC), while NSI also presented the support services they intend to prepare for the games. "We are currently in the process of identifying athletes for the registration long list and hope to have a shortlist by September. "There will be 50 sports contested in Thailand and we will be competing in 48 of them. We expect to send between 600 to 700 athletes to the games. "We have also requested that OCM appoints a chef de mission and deputy chef de mission as well as team managers soon so we can coordinate our preparations at the national sports association level." By comparison, Malaysia sent 677 athletes to compete at the 2023 Phnom Penh Games, 584 at Hanoi 2021 (held in 2022 due to Covid-19) and 773 at Manila 2019. Jefri added that efforts have been made over the past two years to "transform" sports that had underperformed at previous editions of the Sea Games, such as swimming. "We have done a lot of transformation in swimming. This includes the appointment of a technical director as well as new foreign coaches for the senior and backup squads," said Jefri. Malaysian swimming has suffered slow but steady decline at the Sea Games level for over a decade now. The swimming squad has not been able to win more than one gold medal at the last two editions of the games.
